I’m fairly sure when GP says raw ingredients, they mean things like fresh vegetables and cheap cuts of meat. Fresh vegetables are generally fairly expensive and cheap cuts of meat are close to nonexistent in food deserts. Staples like rice and beans are only cheap if you buy in bulk, but that requires a hefty capital investment upfront, which is usually impractical to begin with, and time commitment and skill to turn into an enjoyable meal. The time commitment is especially onerous for someone working juggling jobs just to be able to pay rent and generally make ends meet. All of that adds up to what less nutritious alternatives being far cheaper when you account for all the costs and for cash flow and opportunity cost in particular, at least in the short term. The cash flow problem makes it hard to optimize for the long term, so now you’re stuck unless you can invest superhuman effort from an already thoroughly exhausted body.

Just checkout the Walmart website; a bag of onions is $2, carrots is $.80, and celery is $1.30. one pound of minced beef is $3.70 tinned tomatoes for $.50 and spaghetti is $0.80. that's a meal for 4 for $9 and takes ~30 minutes to prepare and clean up.

Cooked well, that will lead you to a bland meal. Cooked badly it will be pretty awful. If you're used to high in salt/sugar it will taste awful regardless.

Craft Mac and cheese is $1/portion and ready in less than 10 minutes with one dish.

[0] https://www.walmart.com/grocery/search/

Oh Mac and Cheese!

Any one else here have parents put random stuff in your Mac to "balance the meal"?

Mac with tuna. Mac with peas. Mac with what EVER was handy.

Oh it brings back memories.

There's also the issue that people who are having to work long hours and even multiple jobs to scrape by are time poor as well ... after 12-14 hours of being on your feet, cooking a fresh meal takes second fiddle to just eating SOMETHING and crashing out to try and rest.

Raw ingredients are more expensive than you would think, and while you can eat very cheaply (rice, beans, onions, a few spices), most people aren't particularly good cooks. Add in that for poor people in the U.S., many work multiple jobs if they live in a city, and who wants to cook after a 12 hour day of working.

> Sorry how can raw ingredients be expensive?

Literally just the price tags in the store. I once baked some pumpkin spice muffins for a friend in NYC who wasn’t in the habit of cooking (so I had to buy everything). Total cost: $45. I think it would have come to about $10 in London (where I live).

Admittedly, he’d have had some flour and butter to spare after that. But you have to somewhat know what you are doing to take advantage of the remaining ingredients.

Why are groceries so much more expensive in the US than in Europe?

I don’t know. I imagine the price varies a lot in different parts of the US, however.