We could use huge amounts of money, R&D time and mission time growing potatoes in space for a multi-year Mars mission. OR we could dust off the plans for nuclear rocket engines that have been gathering dust since the 1960s and mount a 6-month mission with a heavier spacecraft and more and better science. For food we can just send along a crate or two of MREs.
But that makes too much sense, I'm sure. You get more "good government" points if you do space on a shoestring.