Strawberries for sale at the Boalsburg Farmers Market. Fresh fruits and vegetables can be more expensive than processed foods in the short run, but pay off over time with fewer health issues. Consumers can lower costs by buying in season, frozen or canned foods in winter. Photo by Tina Peterson

by Tina Peterson

Anna Marie Nachman raised five children and frequently found it difficult to buy the food she wanted to give them. The Covington township resident said she still remarks on how costly healthy food is.

“When they were growing up,” she said, “to try to feed that many, we just went for the least expensive food we could find. And I know they didn’t eat healthy.”

Her daughter has three boys, she said, and she knows how difficult it must be to make them healthy meals because it’s so expensive.

“It just costs so much less to buy a packet of Kool-Aid than juice. A lot of things are that way,” she said.

Nachman said she usually shops at Wal-Mart or Giant, which she has to go out of her way to visit. She lives in a rural area about 40 miles north of State College, and often finds it difficult to buy produce regularly.

“When you get fresh foods, you need to use it right away or it goes bad,” she said, and plans frequently change and then the food goes to waste.

At one time she had a garden and canned home-grown produce at home, she said, but her commute to and from her job as an administrative support coordinator at Penn State leaves her little time to do so.

Eating more healthfully demands resources that are in short supply, and “Time and money,” Nachman said, are “the two things I don’t have enough of.”

Fruits, vegetables, and other foods that nutritionists recommend eating more of are frequently beyond the means of many households. The story of how some foods come to cost more than others is a rather complicated one.

Printed with permssion from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. This diagram from 2007 illustrates imbalances in federal food subsidies. Penn State agricultural economist David Blandford, Ph.D., cautions that it may not accurately represent current allocations, and points out that it omits substantial subsidies for corn and soybeans.

Calories are cheap, but are they nutritional?

Most people are used to thinking about calories in terms of dieting, especially now that so many food manufacturers sell cookies and crackers in 100-calorie packs. To food chemists, calories are the units of energy that a particular food contains. Many foods also contain vitamins and fiber, which have little to do with their calorie count.

Many of the foods nutritionists recommend people consume more of, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, have low energy density, according to the Mayo Clinic. That is, they have fewer calories per portion than foods with high energy density. For example, one cup of strawberries contains fewer calories than one cup of ice cream.

One of the reasons fresh fruits and vegetables are less energy-dense is that they contain more water and fiber, both of which make them healthier food choices. In contrast, most high-energy-density foods contain more fat and sugar.

The saying “you get what you pay for” suggests that a high calorie count would mean a higher price tag. Ironically, food that has higher energy-density and is therefore higher in calories tends to be less expensive than food that is low-energy-density.

Researchers at the University of Washington compared prices on 372 different foods in supermarkets in the Seattle metro area. They found that foods with high energy density – including cookies, candy, and snack foods – cost less per calorie than foods with low energy density such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Barbara Rolls, Ph.D. is a professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State and the author of the book The Volumetric Eating Plan. In the book she advocates eating more low-energy-density foods as part of a plan to feel satisfied with fewer calories. While her approach is designed to be a weight-loss plan, it is also healthy eating advice that conforms to recommendations made by nutritionists and the USDA’s food pyramid: Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

In the book, the “volumetric” makeover of popular snacks and entrees makes them healthier, but also more expensive. Replacing corn tortilla chips with a variety of fresh vegetables on a dipping tray certainly adds vitamins and fiber, but it also adds to the price tag.

Rolls said people should look at more than calories when they think about food costs.

“If you just look at calories, clearly fruits and vegetables are really expensive. But if you factor in the nutrients as well, they turn out to be a good buy,” she said.

It’s wise, she said, to think of the money spent on food in terms of how it affects our long-term well-being.

“Eating lower nutrient foods is really, really cheap,” she said. “Spending a bit more on healthy food is a good investment. Most of us don’t think about it that way, we tend to eat for the moment.”

In her book, Rolls offers advice on how to stretch food dollars when shopping for a lower-energy-density diet. She encourages readers to buy fruits and vegetables that are in season, and to substitute canned and frozen varieties for fresh to save money. She also pointed out that beans, lentils, and other sources of protein are very affordable.

Government subsidized profit

One significant reason for the price difference between processed foods derived from commodity crops such as corn and that of fruits or vegetables in the extreme imbalance in government subsidies to farmers.

In 2009 fruit and vegetable farmers received a total of $825 million in federal support through federal farm programs, according to Donald Carr, policy advisor for the Environmental Working Group, which tracks such programs. By comparison, commodity crops such as corn and soybeans received an astounding $15.4 billion.

Almost half of the corn grown in the United States becomes sugar, according to agricultural writer Richard Manning. It’s the critical ingredient, along with salt, in almost all processed foods, the ones with long shelf-lives and low prices. Corn is used in everything from crackers to ketchup, spaghetti sauce to soda. Some documentaries and books that speak to the issue include The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Fast Food Nation and Food, Inc.

 
This article is sponsored by the North Atherton Farmers' Market

Low efficiency, high cost

It’s no surprise to anyone who pays for their own groceries that 100 calories of Coke costs less than 100 calories of broccoli.

David Blandford, Ph.D., is a professor of agricultural and environmental economics at Penn State. He attributes the difference in food costs to the cost of production.

“It’s incredibly cheap to produce Coke,” he said, because it’s just water and corn syrup. On the other hand, most fresh produce requires a great deal of labor to grow and harvest.

In addition, soda and other processed foods have shelf stability. That is, they can sit on store shelves or in warehouses for a long time without decaying. On the other hand, he said, fresh produce requires refrigerated storage and more careful distribution to preserve it.

“Perishability is expensive,” Blandford said.

The efficiency of growing different foods is another factor that affects cost. Few other crops can match corn for efficiency of production. Advances in technology have made corn farmers able to produce much more on the same amount of land, he said. Although other crops can be made more efficient, he said, the gains in productivity frequently come at the expense of quality. For example, tomatoes grown more efficiently may lose some of the flavor and texture that consumers prefer, he said.

Yet another factor that makes corn (and ingredients derived from it such as high-fructose corn syrup) so inexpensive is that it is less labor-intensive to harvest.

“Harvesting corn is very easy, very mechanical,” Blandford said.

Apples are another crop that is fairly cost-efficient to harvest, according to Megan Coopey, a co-owner of Way Fruit Farm in Port Matilda. An orchard of apples can be harvested all at once, she said, and apples can be stored under refrigeration for many months.

In contrast, strawberries must be picked when they are ripe, so a single field must be passed over several times to get all the berries. The same applies to other fruits.

“When we pick peaches,” Coopey said, “we go over the same trees 4 or 5 times, because you want them ripe. You can’t pick everything at the same time.”

Canned peaches are an economical option, she said, but they occasionally have a more crunchy texture because such peaches are picked all at once whether they’re ripe or not.

Fruit harvesting is much more labor intensive than food processing, she added, which generally happens in a factory where many tasks are done by a machine.

“With fruit there’s not a lot that can be automated,” Coopey said.

Another factor that impacts the price of fresh produce is spoilage, she added. She estimates that her farm loses a portion of their peach crop every year to spoilage. Perfectly ripe peaches must be sold and consumed right away whenever possible.

“It’s so perishable, when you’re talking about fresh fruits and vegetables,” Coopey said.

“Food first”

The price difference between particular categories of foods impacts what different households spend each month at the grocery store, but it’s not the only factor. Low-income households tend to spend a higher proportion of their income on food, according to research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

On average, a household with an annual income of $70,000 or more spends only about nine percent of it on food. In contrast, in a low-income household the food budget may account for up to 37 percent of its spending. Economists call this a “food first” budget allocation – because food is a necessity, all households must spend a minimum amount on it.

Government food assistance is meant to help low-income households obtain a nutritionally adequate diet. Formerly known as food stamps, it is now called SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Another program meant primarily for mothers and children is known as WIC, for Women, Infants and Children.

SNAP clients may use their benefits to purchase any food that will be eaten at home, according to the program’s website. Hot prepared foods, alcohol, tobacco, pet food, non-food items, and vitamin supplements are not eligible purchases.

WIC provides supplemental nutrition to pregnant or nursing women, or to parents of young children. Foods that may be purchased with WIC vouchers include many that are high in protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. Those eligible to participate in WIC generally have low household income and are deemed to be at “nutritional risk” because of inadequate diet or a medical condition such as underweight or anemia.

An estimated 10 percent of Pennsylvanians received SNAP benefits in 2008, and that number increased in 2009, according to the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center. The average participating household received $263.77 in SNAP benefits per month last year.

Budgeting and planning

Malorie Blake is a community nutritionist with the Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Network, an organization that provides nutrition education specifically for low-income households in the state. Blake said one of the biggest challenges people on food assistance face is making ends meet and budgeting food costs, especially for large families.

“They have to be able to find healthy foods, and find recipes that are going to go a long way in terms of servings,” she said.

The advice she frequently gives to families trying to stretch their food dollar, she said, is to plan meals for the week before they go grocery shopping.

“Planning ahead is really, really important,” Blake said. If you go into the grocery store and buy things without knowing what you’ll make with them, she added, it can turn into wasted food and wasted money.

“If you go to the grocery store with a list,” she said, “it’s going to be easier to buy only the things you need for the week.”

When purchasing fresh food, Blake advises people to buy only the quantities they know they will actually use. Sometimes frozen vegetables and fruits can be a really good addition, she added, because they’re easy to prepare and can be kept in the freezer for a longer period of time without spoiling.

Time is money

As Anna Marie Nachman pointed out, time can be just as important as money for a family that is trying to eat more healthfully.

Blake said she frequently hears people complain about not having enough time to plan meals and cook.

“It is usually one of the major barriers to healthy eating that typically comes up,” she said.

Making food in batches and freezing some for later, buying convenience foods that are healthy (such as steam-in-bag vegetables), and planning ahead are all strategies Blake suggests for saving time. She said she also likes to emphasize that low-cost recipes can be easy to prepare.

“You do not need to be a trained chef to make healthy meals!” she said.

Blake said many people she works with tend to think of recipes as meals with a long list of ingredients that take over an hour to prepare. Working parents who are crunched for time often feel it’s easier to pop a frozen pizza in the oven when they get home.

“In reality,” she said, “you can make an easy pizza that fits within your budget and is healthy. It’s all about having the right items on hand and planning ahead.”

Other sources

Households that qualify for assistance from the State College Area Food Bank have access to plentiful fresh fruits and vegetables during much of the year. During an average week in the summer, the food bank receives generous donations of produce from local farmers and several Penn State gardens, said Ernest Boyd, manager of operations. They also receive remainders from Wegmans’ produce department and from the State College Downtown Farmers Market.

In addition, the food bank occasionally holds a plant giveaway, in which clients are given potted plants to grow vegetables such as tomatoes in their homes, said Linda Tataliba, executive director.

Some low-income households also have the option of shopping at farmers markets. The Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) is a federal initiative that operates at state level to enable WIC participants to buy produce from local farmers. Senior citizens with qualifying household income also may be eligible to receive FMNP coupons, according to the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center.

FMNP vouchers are accepted at farmers markets by many local farms, including Way Fruit Farm, Jade Family Farm, Eden View Organics, and Ardry Farms.