Are Fruits and Vegetables More Expensive Than Processed Junk Food?

Guest Blog post by our Nutrition Education Manager, Laura Fillbach

Laura's daughter, Ashima, is pictured below!

I recently read an article claiming that “swapping common snack foods with a ½ cup serving of fruits or vegetables can be done without compromising a household’s food budget.”  Looking at the list of common snack foods, I chose 5 that my kids actually consume and then 5 of the suggested “swaps.”  When I added up the costs of a serving of the foods I had chosen using the chart in the article, the totals actually came out exactly the same for each category ($1.74)!  So theoretically, if my kids made one swap per weekday they could incorporate 5 extra servings of fruits and veggies without any increase in cost.  Of course in real life the trick would be getting them to accept those changes, as well as the difference in convenience; it’s much easier to toss a granola bar into a backpack than to wash, slice, and package a portion of a red pepper (and then store the rest of the pepper and remember to use it again before it goes bad).  Still, it’s an idea worth thinking about.   

This post is part of our month-long blog series in celebration of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' "National Nutrition Month." This year's theme is, "Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day," so each of us here at Hunger Free Vermont will take a turn to share a personal goal, story or fact regarding nutrition through daily blog posts throughout the month.