Resources / Ripples & Wipeouts

Are fruits and vegetables becoming hot luxury items, much like this seasons newest “it” bag?  According to new research they are. An article released by Reuters on Jan. 2, 2008 revealed that, “The price of fruits and vegetables is climbing faster than inflation, while junk food is actually becoming cheaper.” Researchers at the University of Washington found that it costs $18.16 to buy 1,000 calories worth of fruits and vegetables.  In contrast, 1,000 calories worth of junk food cost just $1.76.  Is it any surprise that there is an obesity epidemic in the United States when it costs a whopping $16.40 more per 1,000 calories to buy healthy food?

One solution to this cost disparity is to provide federally subsidized vouchers for fresh produce available to low income earners.  This would allow low wage workers and their families to have much needed access to healthy food options.  Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) conducted a study using that very concept. 

Researchers tracked the eating habits of 602 women participating in the federal Women, Infants and Children (W.I.C.) program, which subsidizes food purchases for low-income women and children.  (Until recently, W.I.C. has not provided subsidies for fruit and vegetables, except for fruit juice and carrots for breastfeeding women.) Some of the 602 women who participated in the study were given $10 in weekly vouchers for fresh produce that could be used at local farmers’ markets or supermarkets.  After six months, the women who were given vouchers and shopped at farmers’ markets were eating about three additional servings of fruits and vegetables a day.  Women who were given vouchers but shopped at supermarkets ate about 1.5 additional servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

It is clear that having an extra $40 per month to spend on produce can have a huge impact on the eating habits of low income women.  However, the newly reformed W.I.C. program will offer just $8 per month in produce vouchers for women, $6 for children, and $10 for breastfeeding women.  This is certainly not enough to cover the recommended nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

How is it that in this first world nation that we live in, people cannot afford to buy basics like broccoli and apples? It is time to reevaluate our methods for determining poverty and the cost of healthy living.  Until then, keep an eye on sales at the local supermarket and remind the feds that high fructose corn syrup and ketchup don’t count as fruits and vegetables. 

--AMI

Related Articles:
Reuters Health Article
The Farmers Market Effect