Attack piece
Healthy food is shrinking your walletBeware of fast-food price ballooning.
You can’t deny your rapidly shrinking waistline, but what about your lighter wallet? How do you explain that?
Fast-food restaurants have sneakily lured your cash in the form of healthy menu items. How can that be? They market a few “fresh” items, at a significantly increased price, as an option for fat-laden foods. You, in turn, buy the healthier items because you want to treat your body right.
But why are you being penalized for choosing fruit instead of fries or grilled chicken in place of fried chicken? It’s a mistake for companies to do business this way, because it discourages people from buying the lower-fat choices.
I’m a big fan of smoothies, but I don’t understand why a small smoothie from Smoothie King costs $4 while a small Wendy’s Frosty costs 99 cents. While they are almost identical in calories, it’s obvious that a smoothie offers more nutrition than a Frosty. The fruit juice and other quality ingredients mixed into that delicious Smoothie King concoction should total to a reasonable $2.
Chick-fil-A recently introduced a fruit cup as a substitute for fries in value meals. But choosing fruit will run you 69 cents extra. Why? A representative from the company said the price is due to packaging and high produce costs, but that hasn’t stopped another well-known establishment, Wendy’s, from offering four side items as a substitute for fries in value meals. If you prefer chili, a baked potato, a side salad or Caesar salad, your wish can be granted at no extra charge. But Wendy’s also offers five entrée salads with low-fat dressings, with the prices starting at a whopping $4. It’s not hard to see why people pick 99-cent burgers and chicken nuggets over healthy stuff.
Everyone knows Jared swears by the Subway diet. The place does have many advantages: no fried food and lower-fat meats, mayonnaise, chips and even brownies. But did you know that if you opted for one meal a day for a week at Subway, you’d be out $40? Most people can’t shell out that much every week.
TCBY offers a surplus of healthy choices, including sugar-free and 96 percent fat-free desserts. You can order sugar-free, fat-free chocolate yogurt in a cone for a mere 90 calories and pay only $1.78, but wouldn’t you rather have a Reese’s Pieces Shiver or an Oreo milkshake? If you choose the latter, expect 550 calories and a $3.62 tab.
The fast-food industry isn’t alone when it comes to expensive healthy fare. Most supermarkets charge high prices for produce, which is somewhat understandable when it comes to ensuring quality, freshness and taste. However, Target has tried to meet consumers’ needs by featuring signs that state “Eat well, pay less” in its produce section. Other grocery stores need to develop ways to offer low prices for good produce, because many people can only afford to buy cheap-as-dirt canned soups and frozen dinners.
High prices may prevent you from improving your health. As responsible consumers, we need to voice our opinion to ensure a healthier future with better price equality.
posted by Lauren Champlin @ 6:48 PM
1 Comments:
I share your frustration, Lauren. I could buy a new outfit for the price of grocery shopping at Manna Grocery. The problem is that until the market of healthy food buyers increases, the prices will stay high. It costs them much more money to import healthy foods as opposed to the taters that can sit on the shelf for months.
Not surprising is the fact that when you take two steps out of the deep southeast, you have healthier foods available at lower costs. I recently went to Austin TX and there were actual vegetarian restaurants and the one healthy food aisle that is so common here is matched by an entire store of health foods for about the same prices. It's all about what people want, and until Alabamians get it through their fat heads that we need to lose weight, it will continue to be this way.
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