"We are dedicated to cruelty-free living through a vegetarian - vegan lifestyle. Let no animal suffer or die that we may live!"
Over the years, we have heard many people talk about the high cost of food. As whole (non-processed) food vegans, we never thought these complaints were justified. In fact, we believe that vegans have some of the lowest daily food costs of any group of people. With this in mind we decided to do a study, which we commenced the beginning of January 2004. The results are as follows:
Period |
Food Cost/Person/Day |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2004 | $4.02 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2004 | $4.37 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2005 | $4.36 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2005 | $4.47 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2006 | $4.48 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2006 | $4.54 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2007 | $4.63 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2007 | $4.53 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2008 | $4.62 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2008 | $4.63 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2009 | $4.64 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2009 | $4.64 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2010 | $4.63 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2010 | $4.70 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2011 | $4.70 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2011 | $4.75 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2012 | $4.79 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2012 | $4.85 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2013 | $4.87 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2013 | $4.91 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2014 | $4.93 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2014 | $4.94 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2015 | $4.98 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2015 | $5.00 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2016 | $5.02 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2016 | $5.03 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2017 | $5.03 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2017 | $5.06 |
1 Jan - 30 Jun 2018 | $5.07 |
1 Jul - 31 Dec 2018 | $5.08 |
The average daily food cost per person per day includes all purchases from supermarkets, health food stores, farm markets, on-line stores, and co-ops.
By looking at our recipes, you can see that we buy a wide variety of whole unprocessed plant foods, including some "exotic" fruits, nuts, vegetables, beans, grains, seasonings, and mushrooms. We buy as much organic and veganic food as possible, and we want for nothing. If we had a tight budget, we could easily reduce these costs, and still have a very healthful diet.
In 2003, Veg San Diego prepared a food cost analysis for main meals (without provisions for snacks) and their two plans averaged $4.70/person/day, which we believe was due to their menus having more processed and prepared foods. Also, we did not reach their cost until the end of 2010, and we included snacks.
Based on this comparison, we believe that the more healthfully people eat, the lower their food costs become.
In addition to saving money on our food, as healthy vegans in our late seventies, we have very few medical expenses and no pharmaceutical bills (we don't even use aspirin), which is a huge budget savings over what the majority of people in our age bracket spend. These savings began in 1987 when we became vegan.
The above recipe is in keeping with God's creation intent (Genesis 1:29-31): 'Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-- everything that has the breath of life in it-- I give every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.' (NIV) Let no animal suffer or die that we may live!