12/10/2004

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Chow Line: Fresh produce can be cheap (for 12/19/04)

Writer:

Martha Filipic
filipic.3@osu.edu
(614) 292-9833

Source:

Sharron Coplin, Human Nutrition

For the week of Dec. 19, 2004 Chow Line By Martha Filipic (614) 292-9833 filipic.3@osu.edu

Fresh produce can be cheap

My New Year's resolution is to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables, but I'm afraid of the expense. Are there bargains I should look for?

Don't buy into the "eating healthfully is too expensive" myth. The trick is to actually substitute healthful foods for the not-so-nutritious items you usually buy.

If you start buying more produce but still purchase just as many chips, cookies and other snack items, your grocery bill will certainly grow. And, you'll feel you wasted even more money if you throw away produce because your family lets it sit in the refrigerator bin for weeks on end.

But you might be surprised what happens when you buy a bunch of bananas and a bag of apples instead of a half-gallon of chocolate chip ice cream and a carton of chocolate-covered marshmallow puffs. It's likely that both your grocery bill -- and your waistline -- will shrink.

In fact, a 2004 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service concluded that of the 154 forms of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables studied, more than half were estimated to cost 25 cents or less per serving. The researchers said that consumers can meet the recommendations of three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for 64 cents. As the researchers pointed out, that's less than the price of a 3-ounce candy bar.

When comparing fresh produce with processed produce (canned, frozen, dried or juiced), the researchers noted that fresh fruit was the cheapest option 63 percent of the time and fresh vegetables were the cheapest 57 percent of the time.

Among the cheapest fresh fruits were apples and watermelon (11 cents per serving) and papayas, grapefruit and bananas (17 cents per serving). Fresh vegetables are even better bargains: cabbage at 4 cents per serving; potatoes at 6 cents; broccoli florets at 7 cents; and whole carrots at 10 cents per serving.

Note: It's important to take serving sizes into account. One serving is about four ounces, or a half-cup. A small banana or an apple or orange the size of a baseball would be one serving. So, even though you might think you're paying big bucks for a pound of fresh raspberries, they're still only 64 cents per half-cup serving.

Good luck on your 2005 grocery shopping. See you in the produce aisle!

Chow Line is a service of Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Send questions to Chow Line, c/o Martha Filipic, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1044, or filipic.3@osu.edu.

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Editor: This column was reviewed by Sharron Coplin, registered dietitian and Ohio State University Extension nutrition associate in the College of Human Ecology.

Editor: The Economic Research Service report "How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables?" is available online in PDF format at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib790/.