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No one's too poor to eat healthy. Fresh produce and meat costs far less than the prepackaged frozen stuff.

I do think some people are too uneducated to know how to eat healthy and resistant to change, a welfare mother I knew several years ago would trade her WIC stamps for cigarettes and use her welfare food 'dollars' for daily's fruit drink and cheetos and popsicles because her kids 'won't eat nothin else'. But she's an exception.

But I do disagree, in a way. Maybe not many are too poor to eat healthier, but it is a challenge. I've found (since I've taken a cut in pay) that produce is not cheap. Just as one example - a single walmart red pepper, $1.43. No-name mac n cheese, 3 boxes for a dollar. And more filling, so some may be tempted to go with the mac and cheese. I've had to be creative, what's on special today and we can cut around that bad spot and so on. Meat, also the cheap meats, pre-made, fattier and less healthy (additives), are much cheaper than a nice or budget cut.

And it depends on location, too. I'm constantly amazed how my sister in a major city pays less for produce, meat and other grocery items than I do in a rural area. Of course, she pays more for many other items, but they eat well.

And it depends on location, too. I'm constantly amazed how my sister in a major city pays less for produce, meat and other grocery items than I do in a rural area.

I totally agree with you. It drives me absolutely insane about the cost of chicken around here ---- the processing plant is closer to my house than the supermarket.

But that is the problem - shipping costs. Tyson and Perdue ship the chicken processed here down to the warehouse of the local supermarket chain in North Carolina and then it is shipped back up here.

Produce is not a problem, except in the winter, what I don't grown myself I buy it directly from the farmers (or they just give it to me).......but it seems that meat (of all types) is outrageously expensive every where.

Just as one example - a single walmart red pepper, $1.43. No-name mac n cheese, 3 boxes for a dollar.

Your exception proves the rule. Eating out-of season produce from Belgian greenhouses is not the way for the poor to feed themselves.

Try the green pepper. Try some frozen peas, beans, or broccoli (frozen veggies are aways in season.) Try frozen red peppers (Trader Joes has a green/yellow/red bag for cheap.)

And if you want to save money compared to mac and cheese (which there is nothing wrong with if it is supplemented with some vegetables), try homemade mac and cheese, with actual cheese.

Moreover, please tell us what that pepper is for. It probably is just an accent for things that are cheap, like Spanish rice with chicken, Jambalaya or Gumbo (those creoles knew how to eat well cheap),

And you don't need a red bell pepper to make Tacos or burritos, for goodness sake (meat/beans, cheese, tomatoes, onions and lettuce are still cheap, and everyone loves them, especiallo poor kids.)

If you shop at WalMart try the ground turkey chub (freezer case) for $1.36 a pound. Low fat and good in any ground beef recipe. Ten pound bags of chicken legs with thighs attached are under $5.00. Remove the skin and it's relatively low fat.

For healthy veggies, Great Value frozen veggies with no additives like fake butter sauce, etc. Cheap and as healthy as fresh. You can eat cheaply and well, but you have to look around and think outside the box.

I have noticed that prepackaged food is expensive. I don't think produce is generally more expensive, especially vegetables. Some produce that is out of season is expensive. I think you can buy copious amounts of cabbage, greens, beans of all kinds, and such that aren't as expensive as meat, cheese, potato chips, candy and sugar.

It is interesting to see who eats were. On the rare occasions that I go to a McDonalds or Burger King (usually to buy a cup of coffee), I can see a lot of large marges there that probably aren't concerned about the fat content of the Big Mac. Most don't look that wealthy. Down South, we have a plethora of "all you can eat" restaurants that serve "down home cooking." My Wife and I go to one that doesn't add fatback to the veggies, and we tend to eat more veggies, but you can see more middle to lower middle class people there. Some fat, some not. At the upscale restaurants, there are fewer big folks.

I still have a weakness for Mexican food, and occasionally go there, but just not more than a couple of times a month.

So start a garden and freeze the excess - you'll eat veggies and potatoes all winter.

I planted a bunch of squash, tomatoes, beans, melons, potatoes, onions, strawberries, blueberry and raspberry bushes. I seldom buy fresh produce except lettuce - I can't seem to get the hang of lettuce.