Yale, I live next to Australia, in New Zealand, we have similar currencies, cultures, and food pricing problems. As foxxy said, to buy ingredients to make a meal outweighs the cost of the same meal premade. We are isolated nations with a huge distance for food to travel to reach us. Even the food we produce is overpriced. A few years ago, milk cost more than petrol, and our main export is dairy. As to your working comment, you have no idea what other factors people have going on. And as foxxy said she can afford nutritious food, she is merely pointing out not all people can. I don't have a job, I'm a single mum. What do you think. And here's what you didn't know: I have spina bifida, almost died two years ago, take 13 different medications per day to survive, half my digestive tract is missing. All my energy goes into raising my son. Should I be judged?

Yael, Read my comments properly. I have already stated that we can afford to feed our kids nutritional food. But it’s not the case for many families. Also I can’t get a job I have 2 kids with disabilities that have regular appts, I don’t drive, I have no qualifications, references or skills and I have some health issues of my own. Unfortunately no one will hire me because I have to be picky with the hours I work due to constant appts. Speech therapy, Occupational therapy, physio, psychology, paediatrician, GP, etc just to name a few. I can’t just get any job because I have a hip deformity (bilateral coxa profunda and coxa vulga), I can’t sit for long periods and I can’t stand for long periods so I need to find a balance. There is lack of jobs where I am and because I have no skills or anything and I am 32 it makes it even harder. I also don’t drive so because of my kids regular appts I need a job close by. But again we can afford nutritious food, but it wasn’t always the case.

Lauren Caswell, you know what also sucks. Australia has a lot of wonderful produce yet we send a lot of our top quality stuff overseas (especially meat) and we get charged ridiculous prices. I went to buy a roast beef as a treat the other day and the cheapest was approx $17.00 for a tiny, pissy little one. I also treated us to some marinated pork ribs and for 2 racks it cost me $39, I will never be buying that again. But even for the cheaper cuts is expensive. We may have better wages but our general cost of living is outrageous. In Adelaide (where I live), we pay the highest rates of electricity in the world. And Adelaide pays the highest water rates in Australia. Petrol/diesel is fluctuating between $1.20-$1.80 a litre and just these few things add a lot of the extra costs to our food.

Foxxy- as an American fortunate enough to visit your gorgeous country, I was amazed (jaw to the floor) at the high cost of groceries. A morning run to McDonalds for orange juice and biscuits and coffee was outrageous. My children were about 11 and 13 at the time and being from California, they were used to an abundance of fresh fruits and veggies. I'd go to the farmers market twice a week and we consumed mass quantities of fruits and vegetables. I had to tell them No while in Australia. No banana this morning. No avocado on that toast... It was just too expensive and we were blessed just to be there but we saved for a long time.... I can't imagine not having access to cheap, fresh produce.

None of this is healthy, but good point.

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Afterthought, you mentioned in another thread you have the luxury of being a stay at home mom since your husband is the breadwinner. Perhaps you get a part time job so you can afford to feed your children a beneficial diet.

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Like I said earlier, at the end of the day it's your life, your body and your health on the line. I'm a single mother so I'm aware of the costs involved in running a household. I strongly believe that as parents we must provide the tools for our children to succeed, even if you're unwilling to model it yourself. I stand by my comment that as a parent, disregarding the importance of a healthy diet and an active lifestyle is doing a disservice to your children.

It's not necessarly a question of money. There was a moment in my life, my mother was a single mother (my father died) she had to find an underpaid job (she had no qualification) with a lot of overtime to keep our boat floating. I never eat so much junk food in my life. Not because of money, but because when my widow mother had work her 10 hours a day, having to deal with her mourning, her kids, our sorrow, our homeworks, the chores, the paperworks, you'll understand that she wasn't really in the mood for cooking. It's not only a tax on poor people, it's also a tax on single parents who work a lot and working women with a partner not involve in chores.

That’s not a weeks worth, you just said enough for 2 -3 meals for 2 people. The average household has 4 people. My kids go through $15-$20 worth of apples a week. Then us about $5 in bananas, $2 in carrots, $4 in grapes, $3 strawberries, $4.50 for frozen mango, $2 tinned pineapple, $14 potatoes etc. Instead let’s go the junk food way. In a week I can buy 2-3 bags of frozen chips and powdered potato for $8, multi packs of chips and biscuits for under $10, a jar of pasta sauce for about $1.80 (high in sugar and salt) and a packet of dry pasta for $1. That is much cheaper than the healthier options.

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Foxxy. Bananas are 50 cents per pound and apples approximately $1 per pound. You're telling me that your family eats 10 pounds of bananas and 20 pounds of apples per week? , Everyone here is giving excuse after excuse as to why they can't eat healthier. At the end of the day, it's your body and your (long term) health. You've gotta want it enough that you're willing to put in an effort. If you're content with eating a poor diet then really, no one can stop you. Your kids don't have that same luxury. At the very least you should be making an effort to teach your children about maintaining a healthy lifestyle (even if you're not prepared to model one) and you should be providing them with the right tools to succeed. Anything less is a disservice to your children.

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Good on ya, B! I don't understand why people voted you down