Agreed, it's not a solution. But if one is buying rosemary, thyme, basil at the store those kinds of things are priced high and are very cost effective / low maintenance to grow. If one is really just getting by these aren't things to reach for but for a middle class family trying to save some money it's kind of a no brainer if they purchase them regularly.
It's the same for food prep. For some items the time to prepare doesn't offset the cost of buying the prepared item so you really only gain better nutrition or flavor. Other things, say granola, stock, dressings/sauces almost always give you a tastier, healthier product for cheaper.
As you mentioned in your other comment these kinds of things are skills that lower income families tend to have / gain. It just seems that it's becoming increasingly less common.
I wonder if it's a recent phenomenon starting with the millennials growing up in higher standard of living households where those skills weren't really needed as much and now they've gone and moved out into an economy that's far less forgiving.
The ones walking out of the grocery store with $200 in groceries that fit in two bags. And families with low wages. The former is more likely to benefit from growing herbs and leafy vegetables as they are more likely to use them. Dried herbs can be pretty expensive as well.
But yeah, I only had one sentence about gardening in my original comment. Didn't mean to emphasize that as a groundbreaking differentiator in saving money on food.
I agree that cooking can be done cheaply, but I never recommend gardening as a way to get cheaper food. I say this as someone who gardens a lot and enjoys it.
Gardening is fun if you enjoy it, but it’s not a realistic option for lowering food prices. It’s definitely not a solution to high food prices. It’s a hobby.
But you’re right: Even shopping at Whole Foods in a HCOL area it’s trivially easy to prepare reasonably priced meals. I don’t understand what some of these commenters are buying with claims of $200 for “two small bags” of groceries. I don’t think I could accomplish that without loading up on expensive beef, cheeses, and seafood.