The High Cost of Eating Healthy

By Jamie Hunter

Did you ever wonder why it costs so much more to buy healthy foods when you're at the grocery store? Well, I came up with a few of my own reasons. Tell me if you think I'm on the right track.

For starters I think its a simple matter of supply and demand. There are far more people purchasing processed food than there are that purchase fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and so on. The majority of the food manufactures are built to produce these types of foods because they are in such high demand. On the contrary since healthy eating is in the minority and the demand isn't as great for these foods it takes more money for manufactures to produce them and still make a profit. If more people demanded these foods, the prices would start to come down.

Transportation for healthy foods is a lot more expensive than foods packed with preservatives. The cost of your produce is directly related to your grocery bill, particularly when you are dealing with perishable goods. I think you would be surprised to learn just how few of our fruits and vegetables are grown locally. Now we know there aren't any orange groves in Ohio, but what about apples, cherries and other fruits that could be produced locally? I know for a fact that Giant Eagle imports the majority of their fruits out of state. Have you ever priced their apples and strawberries year round?!

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot we can do about the prices of fresh foods right now, but in the end I think it's an expense worth incurring. In the mean time, shop around for the best values and even check the Sunday papers for valuable coupons to help soften the blow of these necessary nutrients.