10 eggs (organically grown, free-range): €3.42
80 grams of "Vesperspeck" (extra-fancy smoked bacon): €2.25
500 grams "Dinkelbaguette" (French bread made from a variety of wheat known in English as "spelt"): €4.43
500 grams of Irish Kerrygold butter: €1.45
4 x 0.33 liter bottles of orange juice: €1.94
500 grams assorted bell peppers: €0.89
1 kg organically grown carrots: €0.99
Total €16.42
Given the current exchange rate (€1 = $1.20), that would be equivalent to $19.70, and would more than suffice for FOUR healthy meals for a family of four.
I'm not even including the many kilograms of wild cherry jam that we "put up" last July (yes, we used a couple of pounds of store-bought sugar), our endless supply of garden herbs (sage, peppermint for tea, oregano, thyme, etc.), and the 50 kg or so of apples that drop into our yard every autumn from the apple tree in our neighbor's yard.
We live in a little country village, but are essentially "city folk" insofar as we don't grow our own potatoes, etc.
Also, these are premium-grade items - I'm sure that we could buy cheap, no-name bulk goods for much less. We could, e.g., presumably buy flour and bake our own bread for considerably less.
YES, I know that I have neglected to include the cost of such items as salt, or the price of electricity.
The point is, I could prepare meals for a family of four for under $5.00. Meals that would not be screaming "after the Apocalypse" or "Grapes of Wrath."
Regards,
I buy Kerrygold butter, but here it is $3.84/£2.89 for 227 grams. Lol, if Ireland were only where Mexico is!