Doong 1

Allen Doong
Professor Lisa Packer
English 1010
April 8, 2016
Of Food and Income
Food, what does it mean to us? What food actually means to us can be many different
things for various people. Obviously, it is a necessity to survive, but we all eat for differing
reasons. Food is for enjoyment, social activities, and most important food is fuel us for our
everyday routines. Our daily lives usually consists of waking up, working to earn money, and
using said money to take care of ourselves and our families. Depending on how much we make,
the allocations towards food differs. According to the 2014 Food & Health Survey, more
Americans are choosing foods based on healthfulness instead of price. This survey shows us that
many Americans are trying to be healthy and not worrying about costs, but it does not show the
income of the individuals included in the survey (Food Survey). As a result, many surveys and
similar reports have convinced Americans that low-income does not affect how healthy
individuals can be. Contrary to popular belief, I argue that income does affect healthy food
choices because of cost, time, and availability.
Cost does affect how people choose food. As income drops, the amount of money
allocated towards food also decreases. According to Adam Drewnowski, a world-renowned
leader in the study of obesity and social disparities in diets and health, states, that food choices
start to shift towards more energy-dense foods because they are less expensive. Therefore, the
first items that are usually dropped off the list are the healthier foods. This trend causes many
people to look towards processed foods, which usually contain high amounts of added sugars and

Doong 2

fats. Though healthy food may be available, the decreased cost in budget makes people reallocate
the money towards other expenses. According to the Living Wage Calculator, an average family
of four in Salt Lake County, Utah should spend about $10,627 on food expenses a year thats
about $29 a day. With that expense the average living wage should be anywhere from $23.33
(single income) to $28.02 (combined income) per hour. The living wage is double to triple the
minimum wage of $7.25 with this disparity families have to move their money towards other
expenses rather than food. As a result, families of lower income start to eat more unhealthy foods
because of the lower costs.
Another aspect of the decreased income occurs because families have to start working
more hours to make up for the income differences of minimum wage to the living wage.
Healthier meals take longer to prepare and make each week about 14 or more hours are devoted
to shopping for healthy food and preparing them (Monsivais). The time needed for healthy food
is not available for those with lower income due to strict schedules for extra work and travel
times for public transportation. Many individuals have to work greater than 40 hours a week to
make the living wage with that less time is devoted towards making healthier food and more time
is devoted towards working. Therefore, time is a key aspect to eating healthier, but those who are
limited on time are forced to accommodate and eat less healthy.
With time being limited for lower income families, healthy food opportunities have to be
available when the time allows for it. Sales opportunities and easy access to the supermarkets
directly influence how healthy individuals eat (Darmon). As many know, sales dont happen all
the time, but when they do they are great opportunities to get healthy food for low cost. These
opportunities are very limited in time availability, but when individuals have to work greater than
40 hours a week to just make it by they usually miss their chance at a less expensive healthy

Doong 3

meal. Sales are great opportunities but missing eight hours of work at minimum wage to save
about $10 to $20, those individuals still lose about $38 to $48 for not working. As a result,
individuals choose work over these opportunities because work will amount to more money than
losing the hours to purchase less expensive food.
As a consequence of lower income with cost, time, and availability, many families eat
less healthy food. Not all families choose to eat less healthy because they want to, but they are
forced to because of their situation. Money is tight for those individuals and they choose to
allocate them towards more important basic needs eating healthy is a luxury of those who can
afford it. So, Food, what does it mean to us? For some its enjoyment and social activities, but for
most its just fuel to survive.

Doong 4

Works Cited
Darmon, Nicole and Drewnowski, Adam. Food Choices and Diet Costs: an
Economic Analysis. American Journal of Nutrition. April 1, 2005. March
20, 2016. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/87/5/1107.full.
Drewnowski, Adam and Eichelsdoerfer, Petra. Can Low-Income Americans
Afford a Healthy Diet? National Center for Biotechnology Information.
Nov. 1, 2011. March 20, 2016.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2847733/.
Food Insight. 2014 Food and Health Survey. Food Insight. April, 01, 2014. April 3, 2016.
http://www.foodinsight.org/surveys/2014-food-and-health-survey.
Living Wage Calculator. Living Wage Calculation for Salt Lake County, Utah.
April 20, 2015. April 3, 2016. http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/49035.
Monsivais, Pablo. Time Spent on Home Food Preparation and Indicators of Healthy Eating
American Journal of Preventive Medicine , Volume 47 , Issue 6 , 796 - 802 .