How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables?

Americans do not consume recommended levels of fruits & vegetables (veg.). One argument is that they are expensive, esp. when purchased fresh. This analysis est. an annual retail price/pd. for 69 forms of fruits & 85 forms of veg. Since many fruits & veg. contains much that is non-edible in the purchase wt., cost/pd. might not be a good indicator of cost per amt. consumed. Therefore, this analysis also est. the no. of serv./pd. of purchased item after excluding all parts of the fruits & veg. not usually eaten. According to this formula, consumers can meet the recommend. of 3 serv. of fruits & 4 servings of veg. daily for 64¢, which represents only 12% of daily food expend. Also, 63% of fruits & 57% of veg. were cheapest in their fresh form. Illus.Reed, Jane is the author of 'How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables?', published 2005 under ISBN 9780756748296 and ISBN 0756748291.