Hunger Action Month

Monday, September 22, 2008

Tough questions

At dinner tonight, my six-year-old wanted to know why I didn't have to eat vegetables. For what felt like the 40th time today, I explained - in six-year-old-terms - what the $25 challenge was and why I was doing it. When I got done, my son looked at me and asked the question that all of us taking the challenge have been asking ourselves: "Why does food that's good for you cost more than food that isn't?" I tried, once again, to answer the question in six-year-old terms. But the truth of the matter is that I really don't have a good explanation. Which my son quickly realized - cutting me off mid-sentence by saying "you know, Mom, I think it's just silly."

2 comments:

cu_marty said...

Were you unable to find any vegetables on sale? I don't know where you are located, but in east central Illinois I was able to find reasonably good prices on some vegetables, both fresh and frozen.

Sara C. said...

I, too, was surprised at how many folks weren't able to fit in any fresh vegetables.

I think a lot of it probably has to do with the fact that most people nowadays aren't very well attuned to how to shop for cheap fresh vegetables and how to cook them so that they stretch a long way. A lot of people's idea of eating plenty of fresh vegetables means spending $5 on a bunch of asparagus or $3.50 on a bag of salad mix, rather than spending $1-$2 on a couple pounds of eggplant which will cook into a couple of dishes that will last all week.