The Dollar Menu
Gregg and I watched Food, Inc., last week. The facts presented were interesting, but, honestly, it was just ridiculous how they twisted things with the intent of eliciting an emotional response. The facts as facts were enough to get the point across without the added exaggeration element. But, I guess that’s how “documentaries” are presented.
One part that sticks out to me was titled, “The Dollar Menu.”
The scene opens with a man ordering five $1 cheeseburgers, two $1 chicken sandwiches, two $1 Sprites, and one $1.60 Dr. Pepper, for a total of $10.60. This is a family of 4 who say that they can’t afford to purchase “real food”. If they only have $1 per person [which isn’t true – they spent, before tax, $2.65 per person; and consider that fast food is taxed where fresh food (in most states) is not taxed] then they can’t afford things like fresh broccoli. They made a big show of weighing what $1 worth of broccoli would be, and how that would not feed one of them.
The father has diabetes, and his medicine costs over $200 per month to purchase. Because of the cost of his medicine, they had to purchase their meals from the dollar menu of a fast food restaurant, where he eats white bread (starch = sugar in the blood), unhealthy fatty meat, fried meat, and drinks a soda (more sugar).
It was all very dramatic with the family standing there letting the silence speak for them.
I feel like finding out the name of these people and sending them $5 Dinners cookbook. But even without a cookbook, it is extremely easy to feed a family of 4 on $10 for one meal.
Just off of the top of my head, I think of a package of chicken thighs ($4 would easily EASILY feed 4 people), a package of brown rice (a $2 package would make 12 cups of cooked rice), and a package of fresh-frozen broccoli ($2). That still leaves me with $2 to purchase a half gallon of milk instead of the high fructose corn syrup laden soda.
I could probably sit here and come up with HUNDREDS of meals made with real food that cost less than $10 to make. I could come up with hundreds more meals that don’t have the starch or sugar content that fast food does, which would help the dad’s diabetes, which would ease the family’s medical costs.
I feel very frustrated with the way this was presented. My heart breaks for people who feel like they don’t have any other option. I feel angry that Burger King’s dollar menu is the default for people with a small food budget, and that this documentary – which reached so many people – exploited such ignorance as if there really is no other option.
A quote from the movie that I loved was:
I’ve had people come up to me at the farmers market, you know, and say, “What? Three dollars a dozen for eggs?” And they’re drinking a 75 cent can of soda. ~Joel Salatin, Polyface Farms
Hallee
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I think your points are valid (especially about the over-dramatization of documentaries), but you’re missing part of the problem. Yeah, healthy food can be cheaper. But what if your apartment doesn’t have a stove to cook the chicken, or your refrigerator is broken so you can’t store perishable food? What if you and your spouse both work long hours at minimum-wage jobs and you’re both exhausted by the end of the day, and you don’t really read well enough to follow complicated cookbook directions? What if no one ever really taught you how to cook, you don’t have any cookbooks, and you wouldn’t even know how to begin cooking something like skin-on chicken thighs? It’s a bigger problem than just that people don’t realize they could be eating better for cheaper.
I suggest reading “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Erenreich, which I think does a great job of demonstrating what it’s like to be among the working poor.
I’m not saying that there aren’t a host of problems. But, the documentary should have used a real angle rather than sensationalizing a non-argument into an argument. They weren’t spending $1 per person and they did have other options. But, this documentary wasn’t about the working poor, or about living conditions, or about education. They went into it to make the big food corporations into evil conglomerates that are keeping the poor down, so that’s the angle they took in their interview, despite that it overexaggerated and sensationalized .
Their doing that makes me question other aspects of the film and they lose a bit of their credibility with me.
Hi Jen,
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In your opinion, who is mostly to blame for the ignorance that leads to poverty?
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We have a public school system that is tax-payer supported. Do public schools offer home-economics classes anymore? Most do not. Are the very few schools which still offer these courses still actually teaching useful home economics — as in how to practice good stewardship while maximizing value and return in the context of a home? Most do not. They teach children how to make change, write a check, and fill out a job application for a low paying job — none of which have anything to do with home-economics. Children are not taught that making/mending your own clothes is much more frugal than buying that $80.00 pair of jeans. Children are not taught the first thing about how to cook real, good, whole food. Children are not taught how to budget and shop for the weekly groceries. Children are not taught how to garden or preserve.
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Just my 2 cents.
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God Bless,
Gregg
I think it is very easy to fall into the trap of the $1 menu. We did for the longest time, and even with a family of three I was appalled each time by how much was being spent each time. No one in my immediate family has diabetes -yet. The family history is filled with it and my husband I battle obesity. Some unhealthy food choices, an underactive thyroid and not enough exercise are problematic.
My mother never really taught me how to cook. My dad –tried. There are cookbooks with simple enough instructions out there, and just asking around you can find someone who can tell you how to cook chicken thighs or lentils and rice. One site I stumbled upon was hillbilly housewife. The recipes are nutritious, tasty, and dont cost a lot. The site owner does not use a lot of meat so some may turn up their nose at it. My sister does. But even if you can’t cook chicken surely you can manage eggs, which are a very good source of protein, and maybe some grits or pancakes. Breakfast for dinner is something we do at times, especially when money is really tight.
You are so right. I have people I know who expect sympathy because they can “only” afford the dollar menu at McD’s. I am equally as broke but choose to feed my family much healthier and frugal than the dollar menu.
I just went to Walmart and we stood behind a family who had grocerys and other items. They apparantly didn’t have enough to pay for their items so they started taking things out of their bags that they couldn’t afford. They took out things that seemed like necessities but all 4 of them had a bottle of pop. They could have each put the $1.49 bottles of pop away and bought a 24 pack for the same price!! They left chips and cookies in the bags but took out the kids’ socks and underwear. What is wrong here!
I have another person I know who has 5 kids and is always behind on their electric bill and rent but still go to restaurants to feed the family twice a week. I don’t want to be judgemental but I just. don’t. get. it. I MISS eating out but it has been a necessary thing to eliminate until the bills are paid off!
I haven’t seen this yet…as I’m just not sure if I”m ready to be “in the know”. I have read a lot online through you and Kelly-the kitchen Kop(along with others) and have drastically changed our eating habits. we avoid hfcs if at all possible(although the stinkin’ animal crackers my son wanted still had it but it was less than 2%) I make more home made bread and other things from scratch so I know what goes in them. Occassionally we do splurge and grandparents still give my kids crap…but thankfully its not everyday.
My mom told me that my kids eat weird things…and her neighbor pointed out that they don’t know any better. Sure a lot of what they eat I never would as a kid, but I wasn’t given the option and there wasn’t as much research into it as there is now.
We recently went on vacation…and while I spent $50 on fruits/veggies, and healthier options my mom spent the same amount on cookies, chips, soda, etc. When I said something she told me she was on vacation so its ok…yet I KNOW she buys this stuff all the time for my brothers. Granted they don’t have a weight problem but I still know its not healthy for them!
Heather – you have done so well, and you should be proud. It’s not easy to radically change your diet – and you did it and even set up a blog about it, which kind of forces accountability. Your kids don’t eat weird things – your kids eat natural things – things God created for them to eat. What’s weird is to bleach the non-nutritious parts of wheat until it’s just a substance with little nutritional value, mix it with chemicals and preservatives until it can sit on a shelf for 20 years, fill it with hydroginated oil sweetened with chemicals, wrap it in a petroleum byproduct, and call it a Twinkie. THAT’S what’s weird. People have been conditioned to think backwards.
The point really is that these people are too lazy, or they have other circumstances behind buying off the dollar menu.
For instance, when we were living in poverty, we had to buy fast food because otherwise we’d be eating at 11 pm or later after my DH got home from work. He worked 2 jobs. Electrical work during the day and delivered pizza at night. The pizza job brought tips which we had to use to buy food. We bought very little groceries (just enough for our daughter to eat healthy at home) because we couldn’t afford to, and then we ate the junk. I know that doesn’t sound like it makes much sense, but it was the only way that worked for us. We didn’t have a way to buy a large amount of groceries, or buy groceries after his tips at night and them be up super late eating dinner.
Thankfully, it was a short period time that we had to live like that. And you’re totally right, it’s WAY cheaper to buy fresh food at the store and make your own meals. Your blog has changed our life in that way too. I was mainly cooking out of boxes and cans, and I barely do that at all now.
Anyway, I’m rambling, but I totally agree with you. This “documentary” shouldn’t have used such a non-argument and maybe used an actual scenario. But, I won’t see it, so that’s ok with me.
I couldn’t agree more!! I absolutely HATE that some people consider eating at a fast food restaurant a cheaper alternative!
When I eat out, even off the dollar menu, I spend so much more than eating at home. And I buy fresh, organic produce and lots of it!
The chicken and rice and broccoli (or any veggies) meal you mentioned made me want to laugh because that is one of my kids’ favorites! We eat that almost weekly. lol
I just clicked over to your blog from… um, a different homemaking blog, the one with the homemaking blog hop thing? lol!
I’m off to read a couple more posts but had to comment on this one, I totally agree.
I think you are spot on! Hubs and I watched that movie a couple weeks ago, took it with a grain of salt but they have very valid points. I couldn’t believe when they walked into a grocery store and weighed a peach or something and the older sister said “oh you could only afford 2 or 3 of these for a dollar”. HELLO!! First they were spending about 2.50 each person, and second, one peach and 2 pb&J’s would be well under a dollar. At the cost of health or our lives? The root of it is, dare I say, American laziness and instant gratification. People are just too lazy to make a sandwich. Even non-healthy, a pkg of noodles for $.88 and a jar of spaghetti sauce for $1.50, a pound of good ground beef for $2.50, bag of frozen veggies for $1.00 = grand total of $6.00, will feed our family of 5 til we are stuffed to the max, and we aren’t little people. But that’s my “lazy dinner”. Don’t get me wrong, we’ll still eat out once a month or so but every day? Might as well just dig your own grave. I wish I could have them over to my house to show them for a little extra effort, it’s worth your life.
We watched it last night!! I agree that it DOES seem cheaper to eat fast food than ‘real’ food but I saw what you saw. That family was obviously not starving, first of all. The thing is….to buy regular serving sizes of food at a grocery store, it is usually cheaper or AS cheap as the dollar menu. But when you buy *2* burgers per person, three tacos, LARGE sodas, etc…. You are eating more than is called for and to match THAT amount of food at a grocery store MAY cost more! I wish they would have spent more time on how it is cheaper…WAY cheaper to buy corn fed feedlot beef than it is to buy local grass fed beef. They did touch on the subject. It is hard for us in a thrifty society to spend 2 dollars per pound more to buy ‘healthy’ beef. (although it is ironic that we are willing to pay hundreds per month for unlimited internet on our cell phones…and for extra cable channels, etc…) I have found that I need to buy my food at a co-op just to avoid the temptation of the non-organic, or corn fed, or HFCS laden food just staring at me from 3 feet away with 1/2 price stickers! :)
I do completely agree with you but at the same time, there does have to be some personal accountability. The “I’m a diabetic because I wasn’t taught to cook”, it a load of crock. I think people can be just too lazy to do anything about it. I went to public high school and so did my hubby. I never took a home ec class in my life, but there’s the internet. That same You Tube that they are watching useless garbage on, is the same You Tube that showed my how to make a Sourdough Starter from scratch, and homemade tortillas. My husband is completely self taught in computer application developing, never paid a cent to any formal education for that for him and he completely supports us with his business. So, I would never blame the system. It’s a disservice to the individual to say that they are not smart enough, when in fact they are very smart, just lazy.
Wow, that is something! I hear you on the $10 or less for dinner… it’s completely possible! In fact, it’s a decent amount for making a decent meal. Incredible! There are a lot of lies out there about all kinds of things… food being just one of many. I’m stopping by from Real Food Wednesdays and am a new follower! Happy Wednesday! =)
Let me just say this, Kara. God Bless your husband. God Bless biblical fathers and husbands who are willing to work two hard jobs and long hours and do whatever it takes to provide for their families. God bless men who protect and provide and are faithful and loving.
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Your remarks touched me in a very near to home kind of way. When I was young and living in poverty, I was eating Ramen with MAYBE a boiled egg if I could afford half a dozen eggs or MAYBE some Vienna sausages if I could afford them from the discount store. Budgeting and grocery shopping for me in those days involved purchasing food that wouldn’t spoil whenever the power company cut off my electricity for the last few days before payday. So, I managed to get some protein and some starch ALMOST every day (Some days were just starch). I could not afford the dollar menu and considered such luxuries as a large french fry or a Wendy’s Frosty “Really Good Food!” so maybe I can’t relate to your previous circumstances completely and would have, at that time, probably considered you and your family well-off in comparison.
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In simple terms, I was ignorant and starving. If I were better educated at that time, I imagine I would have invested in Peanut Butter and Honey or some Pimento Cheese and a loaf of Whole Grain bread. Dollar for dollar, that purchase would have given me more nutrition and fed me for three or four days worth of meals instead of one day or one trip to the dollar menu for a single meal.
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Of course I would have eschewed any kind of soda pop or sports drinks in favor of WATER (from the tap) or milk. I could go on and on about how to be frugal while still making good food choices today, of course, because I have educated myself over the course of more than a decade.
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I guess what got Hallee and I both a little “energized” when we watched this documentary is that they didn’t go into exactly that. That is, making good food choices within your financial means. They could have attempted to document the root cause of the ignorance that is so pervasive in our society and that I, myself, lived.
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Instead they said, “Oh, this poor family that makes such horrible food choices also has to pay over $300.00 a month in medical expenses (so far) BECAUSE OF THEIR HORRIBLE FOOD CHOICES!” The filmmakers did this while trying to leave the (false) impression that better, more informed, more healthy choices were not an option which — obviously — is not the case.
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Thanks for your comment and for making me think.
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God Bless,
Gregg
Thanks for this information about Food, Inc. I saw that documentary as well as MANY others and I couldn’t remember which documentary had the family who thought they were eating well on the Dollar Menu. It totally knocked my socks off because of the viscious cycle of bad food/expensive medication/saving money by buying junk food…
I was thinking about including this info in the film reviews on my personal site. I was raised in a home in which we rarely ate anywhere but home, and the whole family packed lunches. I have continued this tradition. I work more than full time (starting a business), so it’s been a challenge, but it’s SO WORTH IT!!!
Better health, better food, and it’s even less expensive than fast food/junk food.
I feel so fortunate that I was raised by a mother who taught me to cook and let me help her from an early age. Thinking of food in terms of cost per serving, cost of ingredients, shows a very easy way to be both frugal and healthy. I’ve written a blog about being raised to cook and be wise in penny-pinching ways. http://theworldofmarla.com/thinking-about/the-youngest-survivor-of-the-great-depression
Here’s one easy tip I tell others: Replace your first meal of the day with oatmeal–without sugar! You will find yourself eating less sugar and feeling better in the morning. This good feeling gets you through the rough beginning of the day. It’s so much cheaper, too! When you have oatmeal, you don’t need to use milk so you save on that as well.
Try cook them distinctive styles . stir fry. cosaroll. baked.
roostered. . I am a fuss eater myself and now I consume
a few extra vege then when I was 11 or teenager.
. Let her know that tasted buds change each two twos.
. They say if an individual in your family members has diabetes you have got a greater chance.
When did her grand dad have it just at the end of his life.
Or early in his life. Due to the fact old persons get lot
of sickness just from been old.
Fast food is not cheap, it is expensive. I am surprised by how many people think the value menus at fast food restaurants are cheaper than cooking at home.
On the movie where the family spent $10.60 on a fast food meal (I recall this seen too), I couldn’t believe they saw this as thrifty. That is over $300 per month for their dinner meal alone!! They could get a 25 lb bag of rice and 25 lb bag of beans at Costco for $45 total and that would last at least a month. Then use the rest for fruits, veggies, chicken, hamburger, and dairy. They could also buy a 50# bag of wheat for making bread, buns, and biscuits and that is only $25 thru Azure. Heck, my WalMart even sells bags of wheat.
For $10.60 they could easily purchase a lb of hamburger, tortillas, lettuce, tomatos, and cheese and make tacos at home.
It’s been years since I watched this movie… but the dang broccoli scene is still so emblazoned in my mind I looked it up specifically tonight to use as an example as what is wrong with the food conversation. (That’s how I came across this old post.) There are so many examples of the broccoli scene it is hard to keep up with them. In one doc, farmers are actually blamed (with a straight face, mind you) for the obesity in Brooklyn. I’m married to a farmer, and let me just say, farmers will grow what you buy. We have to in order to, you know, farm. If farmers simply closed up shop on the moral grounds of no longer wanting to be responsible for making people fat… then we would have mass starvation. If someone is not personally responsible enough to make decent food choices without casting blame, how on earth does anyone think they’re going to be able to care for and manage the raising of their own food.
Yes, a food conversation needs to happen… but it is going to take both sides being honest to the bone, and willing to make concessions before anyone gets anywhere. Otherwise these documentaries are just packaged exploitation of an audience hungry for information.