The other day, I was grocery shopping for myself with one of my roommates. I have been trying to eat healthier lately and I was going through what I usually would've bought and what I should buy instead. I noticed that there was a major price difference in the things I should be eating and what I definitely shouldn't be.
With apples being in season and all, I thought it would be a good idea to have some in my house for a little snack. I saw the price being $1.18 a pound and thought it was a good idea. Not weighing them, I went ahead and decided they were a good idea. When I got to the checkout line, they ended up being around $7.00. I was flabbergasted when I saw that because to a college student like me, $7 is a lot.
What I also noticed was that the pizza rolls that I snuck in the cart were a whopping $3.00. In the bag, there were 40 pizza rolls. To me, that is a lot of meals or just something quick to put in the microwave before class. I am sure, like many people, like simple things over cooking a long meal.
An apple is a quick snack and something to eat without hesitation, but so are pizza rolls. If I can get many more pizza rolls out of a bag than I can apples, on a normal day I would just buy the pizza rolls. I am not sure if I am doing something wrong, but this isn't the only time I have seen unhealthy food cheaper than the healthy stuff.
In his 2001 address to the World Health Assembly, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said:
“ The biggest enemy of health in the developing world is poverty”. Where I am not impoverished, I know that there are so many people who are that have this same issue. I am in college, trying to learn things on my own and how to pay for them. When my funds are small and my parents are not eager to help pay for things like apples and pizza rolls, it is hard to learn how to shop and stay healthy at the same time.
I will admit, that it is much more fun to eat food that isn't the best for me, but it is fun to feel good about what you're eating and putting into your body. Being healthy is a very good feeling, even though sometimes it is fun to go and splurge on wings, or other extremely unhealthy things.
Living in America has its perks, but the fact that the price difference between produce and Doritos is way far off in a bad way is not my favorite part. It is a privilege to be healthy and to be eating healthy foods. It is hard to eat healthy each and every day and I applaud those who do it so avidly. Self-control is one thing, but the willingness to spend money on things as simple as fruits and vegetables is what I hope to achieve one day.
