Fact: U.S. Dietary guidelines recommend that adults eat 2.5 cups of vegetables per day.
Fact: The average American consumes just 40% of the recommended daily amount.
Fact: 87 percent of adults fail to meet the vegetable intake recommendations.
Fact: On average, the number of servings of dark green and orange vegetables and legumes is less than a third of the recommended amount.
Fact: Nearly 50 percent of the vegetables available in the U.S. are either tomatoes or potatoes.
Fact: About 1/3rds of potatoes, and 2/3rds of tomatoes, were processed into junk like chips, sugar-rich pizza sauce and ketchup.
Fact: The U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests there’s only about 1.7 cups of vegetables AVAILABLE per person in the U.S.
I read some of these stats recently and it was a little mind blowing. I’m not sure what a poll of my readers would look like. I suspect, since I have MANY avid gardeners as readers, we’d be off the charts in intake, availability and variety. I can’t say that for certain, but I’d bet some money on it.
The thing that’s so frustrating about these numbers is how easy it is to garden. You can garden with poor soil, in small spaces, in extreme heat, with limited water supplies. And yes, gardening is a learned skill, but I wonder if more people learned how, if we’d see an increase in our country’s veggie intake. I also wonder, with numbers suggesting that there is almost a full cup too little of veggies available per person, if we could do a better job of distributing our excess.
When I was growing 2 tons of food in my backyard, the leftover produce I had each week was staggering. Now I know my garden was crazy big, but even on a much smaller scale, I bet so much goes to waste when others don’t have enough enough available.
And then there’s the topic of what we do even if it is available. I think a large majority of the population just doesn’t COOK real food anymore. Why put in the effort if you can buy something ready made off the shelf for just a few bucks more… right? WRONG. That potato and veggie hash you cook from scratch is so much healthier than the frozen processed fries you fry up. Do you think our attitude of convenience has anything to do with these numbers. Are we simply not spending the extra time in the kitchen to prepare healthy foods {ie. adequate vegetables?}.
What do you think? Do those numbers surprise you? Do you think there is a true vegetable shortage in America? If so, what can we do about it?
~Mavis
Dana says
Way too many people don’t know how to EAT, much less COOK.
Take a look around and you’ll see people that eat nothing but meat and starch all day long, – eggs and potatoes for breakfast, pizza for lunch, fried chicken and potato salad for dinner.
Fruit is now the blueberries in a muffin. Vegetables are the frozen carrots, peas,mand broccoli in a bag that gets over cooked, sits on the edge of the plate, and ends up in the garbage.
Kathy says
I grew up on a farm many, many years ago and we grew most of what we ate, with the exception of most of our meat. We had vegetables on the table for lunch and supper everyday and we ate them. I love them still and prefer a vegetable dinner to meat many times. I have to eat protein because I have an illness now but I eat a lot more vegetables than I do protein.
I had no idea that there were not enough available vegetables. That surprised me. I live in an apartment but I am on the end unit and I was allowed to put in a raised bed up against the outside wall. I grow tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, green beans, strawberries and an assortment of greens that winter over here in Alabama. It’s not a lot but it’s good exercise and tastes better than anything I can buy unless I go to a farmers market on Saturday, which I do. I also have blueberry bushes in large containers and a big fig tree in a huge container. I plan on adding more container fruit bushes and trees next spring. I don’t have the space in my flowerbed for planting fruit trees and bushes but when put in containers, I can have all I want.
Dale says
Hi Mavis,
I heard/read a comment recently that asked the question, “Should we teach gardening in school?” I think that is a great idea and so many positives could come out of it. Aside from teaching kids how to grow their own food the program could supplement the school lunch program and the excess could go to the local food bank. Win win win!
Chris says
I work for a college prep program and during our summers we have offered gardening classes for two years. Some of the kids are really resistant to it, but many of them really enjoy it. They get to sample and cook with some of what they grow and we donate the rest. Once the summer is done someone else takes over managing the garden. I spent 60 minutes harvesting veggies the other day and we pulled over 100lbs of food out to donate!
Robin says
Chris, good for you. That is incredible. Love what you are doing.
Melonie Ford says
My sons school is doing this on a small scale and they love it. He was so excited to come home and tell me about the pumpkins and squash. I think it is so important for kids to learn. I am just now learning! My garden was a complete fail this year (though I have basil coming out my ears) but we aren’t giving up! Just need to keep the hound dog out…
Crystal says
I think the biggest problem with this idea (which is a great one) is that peak growing season is over the summer, while school is out. So it would be hard to have a really successful program at most schools, since the school would be out for vacation from June to September in most cases. Sure, you could have greenhouses and start growing in early spring and have some stuff ready to harvest during the school year, and have them plant fall crops like pumpkins and other winter squash in the spring and harvest it in the fall, but who would take care of those plants over the summer?
Tammy says
While I try to eat healthily, I do know I do not consume enough vegetables. It isn’t because I don’t like them – I like most vegetables just fine! – but that it takes time to prepare them. That’s a pretty lame excuse, but it’s the truth. I cook almost everything from scratch so by the time I get around to vegetables I am tired of working in the kitchen. It’s funny, I was just thinking that I need to be better at this.
Crystal says
I agree. The other issue is that I don’t have much fridge space (I live in a studio apartment with a mini fridge instead of a regular one, and with a toaster oven, electric kettle, and microwave instead of a normal kitchen stove set up). So I can’t buy much at once. And produce goes bad fast if you buy it fresh, even if you have fridge space, so you have to go to the store more often, and will often lose some produce anyway. Which if you are poor, you can’t afford to spend money on food that will go bad so easily. And you can’t afford the gas to go to the store every few days- you have to bundle everything into just a few shopping trips per month to conserve gas. And that means you have to buy frozen, canned, and processed foods so they don’t go bad in the meantime.
Tammy says
Also, I would say that if there became a DEMAND for more vegetables because everyone was eating more, that the demand would be met. It’s all about supply and demand. The stores aren’t going to stock their shelves with produce that no one is buying.
Kelly says
I think something that’s easy for middle class Americans in suburbia to forget is the massive, massive populations of low income families who live in huge cities… 100 adults and 300 children living in subsidized, low income apartment complexes surrounded by nothing but asphalt and more buildings have it pretty rough. For those of us who don’t have food assistance, it’s a constant battle of health vs calories. I love veggies and eating healthy and make a lot of sacrifices in other areas to try to put good food on the table for my family. But even on the best sales, in season, etc… 350 calories of pasta or rice is almost ALWAYS more affordable than 350 calories of veggies. Get a hard month, a job that doesn’t offer paid sick days, and miss two days of work that month? No fresh produce or milk for three weeks to make up for those lost hours when there’s nothing else left to cut out… I ache for the day I might have even two or three square yards to grow some food. For now, it’s Aldi in the good months and rice in the bad months.
Carol says
Thank you for your honesty, Kelly. This is a truth many don’t want to hear.
JC says
And yet we were just talking about the volume of food waste in the US a few weeks ago. That same food could be sold at the same stores, or even discount stores to help those in this situation. It’s so frustrating!
Carla Edwards says
I think there is not a shortage of vegetables and fruit in this country but a lack of infrastructure to get them to everyone. Some places (inner cities) don’t have enough grocery stores that have fresh quality vegetables and fruit. Also, it takes money and a transport system to get excess produce from one point to another. There is a cost involved that someone has to pay. Education may be a problem, also, in that There are programs trying to eliminate this problem. Produce management and distribution is a problem. More local and backyard gardens would help.
Chip says
I do not believe there is a shortage. Consumers may buy vegetables almost anywhere these days. At a supermarket, farm stand, co-op, farmer’s market, etc. I believe the lack of vegetables in meals has more to do with the time that people have to prepare meals and get them to the table. Several years ago I discovered Ziploc Zip and Steam bags. Using these, I can usually get two vegetables cooked and ready to serve in the time it takes me to make the protein for the meal. Last night we had broccoli, zucchini and edamame. The other problem that I see is that some parents these days find it easier to succumb to their children’s protests, when trying new vegetables, than to get them to eat some. This summer we had our 4 year old grandson over. He never had tried zucchini (one of my favorites). When I served it to him, he took one look and said “yuk”. I asked him to try ONE bite. His response was “yum”. Figures can be misleading.
Betsy A. says
People complain that it is too expensive to eat healthy and I respond, “Do you have a garden?” I get TONS of food with minimal cost and effort. Right now I am spending 3+ hours a day preserving my harvest, but I just think of how much time and money saving it will be when I don’t have to drive to the store to purchase it. Also it is way cheaper to buy a bag of potatoes/ carrots/ a head of cabbage/ a bag of rice than buying fake food in boxes. I get ill when I see all the artificial food in the grocery stores. People’s health would be improved in they ate real food.
I also believe in eating in season and local. Keeps it much simpler.
Crystal says
What about the people who live in apartments? The most they can grow is a few things in pots. And unless you have good quality soil, starting a garden is expensive. Good quality soil is expensive by the bad, and prohibitive by the truckload. So even if you have a yard, if you are poor, you don’t have the money for the start up costs.
And speaking for the buying a bag of rice comment. What if you don’t have a kitchen, or have a minimalist one, that only has a microwave and toaster oven? Yes, you can still cook some of the beans and rice and cabbage, but it isn’t going to cook the same, isn’t going to taste the same, and it going to take more time and more prep.
So no, I don’t really agree with your statement that eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive. Because the solutions you propose don’t work for a lot of people who just don’t have the money or resources to do those things.
Katie W says
There’s always a “what if” situation. I agree with her, that it’s cheaper and healthier to cook from scratch instead of buying ready made stuff. I would venture to say that *most* people have a kitchen, but *most* people probably don’t cook from scratch. For the person that has very limited resources, like you suggested, they obviously have to do what they can and no one can blame them for that.
I do agree, though, that gardening can be tough. I live in an apartment – I can’t grow my own stuff. If I had a house, it would be a lot of money to get started, and where my family is right now, we just can’t make that kind of up-front investment. Maybe one day.
Chip says
Katie – you may want to check out straw bale gardening. I have a lot of people who take my class who live in apartments or rentals that don’t have a space for a “standard” garden. A single bale garden would run about $20. This year I had lettuce, radishes, a single slicing cucumber and a cherry tomato plant in a single bale which generated salads over a 60-90 day period. Way cheaper than the grocery store AND very handy to walk right out the door to get veggies.
Carol says
Where I live, one bale of straw costs $10, and cannot fit into a compact car so I would need to rent a truck, forgetting for the moment that I would not be physically able to get the straw from the truck to the garden.
Dana says
While these are all good and interesting points, I have to say, where there is a will, there is a way.
You can get a bag of decent soil at Walgreens for $1.50 these days, and one can use practically anything as a grow container. A bag of seeds will cost you $2.00 – $3.00 at most. If you have a window that gets a little sunlight and $5.00 you can grow salad greens continually for a season or two for $5.00 total.
If all one has is a microwave and a toaster oven to work with, I would first suggest going to a thrift shop and picking up a crock pot as they are so useful, but if not, then rice cooks up quite nicely in a microwave. Microwave cooking is a thing and a trip to the library for a book on it will open up a new world of dishes.
We are lucky enough to have a full kitchen and I make most things from scratch, and still find we use our crock pot and one burner more than anything else. We no longer have a microwave or toaster oven because we found we rarely used them.
Everything is doable with some effort.
JC says
I agree with this all the way. Also if you have a single burner or a hot pot there are a million websites that have one dish meals, and college dorm room style recipes using these. budgetbytes.com is one of my favorites for these kinds of meals.
Teresa says
Oh! Where do I start? I work in a high school kitchen and we offer 8-10 different vegs and 8-10 different fruits to the kids each day. I’m talking apples, bananas, oranges, plums, grapefruit, kiwi, jicama, broccoli, carrots, celery, snap peas, cherry toms the list goes on and on. The state requires that each child HAS TO HAVE one serving fruit or vegetable with their meal. What do the kids pick up? a juice box or an apple. Maybe a pack of carrots. Now we do get the occasional kid that will load up on sliced peppers and roasted garbanzo beans but that kid is not the norm. I’ve had so many kids say “what is that” they’ve never seen a kiwi or tasted jicama. Good nutrition starts at home. I think for many parents (or single adults) it low on their list of priorities to eat fruits/vegetables.
Kari says
Just the fact that you offer that much amazing food is astounding! Most schools consider tater tots a vegetable. Ugh! I wish more would offer fresh food.
Chip says
Bravo Teresa! Also, I think the earlier we can get children to try new fruits and vegetables, the better.
Victoria says
I think we have a vegetable education problem.
I was picking up my CSA veg one day. A man was also picking up veg, obviously something his wife usually did. He was so confused, saying he didn’t know what half these things in the box were. He held up a big round item, “What is this??” That, my friend, is an onion. “Really? I never would have guessed onion.”
If you can’t identify it, how could you possibly eat it?
Cindi Myers says
When I volunteered with a foodbank in a rural area, I was stunned at the number of clients who didn’t know how to cook anything from scratch. There were a few young mothers who were very good at zeroing in on the ingredients to make healthy meals, but most people were dumb-founded if you tried to give them anything like fresh produce or a bag of dried beans or flour. Some people seem to think that cooking is complicated and takes too much time. There’s a learning curve with cooking, as with everything else, but being able to eat real food is such a money and health-saver. I do agree that gardening has led us to eat more vegetables and a larger variety of them.
Sue says
I work at a library in a very rural area that is “agricultural” but in our case that mostly means cattle and alfalfa. I had an abundance of yellow crookneck squash in the garden one year and brought baskets of them to give away at the library. I was astounded at how many people — adults even more than kids — who didn’t know what it was or how to prepare it…
Pam says
Considering the percentage of the population that depends on government programs for food (think Wic, SNAP, etc), for many people it’s making their grocery dollar stretch until it hurts. In my part of the country, a head of lettuce is $2.00, onions are $2.49/lb. and potatoes are $3.99 for a 5 pound bag. On the other hand, Ramen Noodles are 5/$1.00, blue box mac and cheese is 79 cents and a big bag of potato chips is $2.00 (some store brands even cheaper). If I’m a mom with 3 kids to feed dinner to and $3.00 to spend on dinner – I’m not going to be shopping in the produce department. I can go to McD’s one day each week and get a hamburger for 59 cents. But the cheapest salad they sell is $4.99. And there’s no such thing (at least in this market) as a salad Happy Meal for kids. If you aren’t exposed to fresh foods as a kid, you grow into an adult who doesn’t bother with them. I think it’s just that simple. You ask if we don’t have enough vegetables? Look at how many tons of fresh fruits and vegetables get dumped into landfills and compost piles every day. We have plenty. People don’t want it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8xwLWb0lLY
Karin says
So many people in this country live on processed food. They really don’t have any knowledge about vegetables (growing, preparing, or eating). One of my son’s friends once asked me “what are carrots made of?”. He was ELEVEN YEARS OLD!!! I don’t think we have a vegetable shortage…it’s supply an demand…if people aren’t buying that many veggies, stores aren’t going to stock them.
Melinda says
I think at least from my perspective, preparing food takes a lot of time. With both parents working full-time jobs, getting kids to soccer, etc. and then getting home late, convenience is king. For the past 25 days, I have had no processed foods and nothing with added sugar (goodbye bacon). I can tell you that my husband is the cook in the family because he is off work at 3:30 to get our son, whereas I am at work until 8:30 twice a week, and since starting this new way of eating, I have had to figure out when I can cook the vegetables so I don’t starve. Cutting up a sweet potato and roasting it takes at least 30 minutes. After a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is be in the kitchen preparing tomorrow’s meals, but I’ve done it. Time management is key here. I tend to make most of my food on the weekend when I have more time (and my husband can grill), but in our crazy ever-connected world, even weekends can be eaten up by activities. I do have a very small garden in the front yard of my house. Green beans and tomatoes did pretty well for me, but I didn’t get tons (none to save), the artichoke plants are still growing but there’s no artichoke to speak of, and I have 3 pumpkins to round out the year. I think it can be harder than you think. Where do people in Chicago garden? Most don’t have the room. Other dense cities are the same, and while some farmer’s markets have taken off (Kansas City I’m looking at you), others are just getting going, like the one here in Virginia.
Chip says
Why was my comment not posted? Did I do something incorrectly?
Katie W says
I don’t think we have a vegetable shortage. Like many people have said – it’s supply and demand. For example – gluten-free has become a trend (yes I know some people really can’t eat gluten) and therefore more stuff is being made “gluten-free” and it’s more so being stocked on shelves. This is great for people that have to follow a gluten-free diet and I hope that stores keep it on the shelves if the trend ever dies.
I also think not enough home-skills are being taught in schools. Many kids leave mom and dad’s house not knowing how to budget, manage a home, do laundry, cook etc… So in the case of cooking, you end up with adults who buy ready made stuff because they don’t know how to make good food and they don’t really know what proper nutrition looks like. This is more so the case if they grew up in a home that supplied only processed food.
Lastly, and unfortunately, in lower income areas you don’t really see grocery stores with a lot of good food options. Also, if you’re on limited funds, you’re going to make that dollar stretch with packages of ramen and other cheap processed junk. Fresh food adds up quickly, and if it’s feed my family crap for a week, or have a nice (re: healthy) dinner once, I’m probably going to pick feed my family for a week.
I think many of our countries health problems could be solved it we ate correctly.
Katie W says
*country’s
Susan says
Additionally, it takes time to prepare and process food. My husband and I both work outside the home, and commute about two hours a day. By the time we have battled traffic and spent all day away from home working, we are tired! So yes, convenience food is not as healthy, but it is convenient. And it becomes a downward spiral because you feel even less energetic because of the diet, and so on.
Lori says
Ample Harvest does a great job of distributing excess from back yard and small scale gardeners. This is a great organization that works with local food banks.
Marcia says
I think it’s a combination. First, I don’t think it’s true that we don’t have enough fruits and vegetables for everyone.
You only have to look at what gets thrown away – from fields to stores to schools to homes.
(And yes, I eat 3+ cups of veggies a day, plus 2 cups fruit).
There are all sorts of issues.
– Access – fresh fruits and veggies will go bad. So either you grow veggies that last longer and pick them too early and artificially ripen them (so they don’t taste good), or you recognize that good veggies are going to go bad.
– Cities – lots of people don’t even have access to fresh food.
– Cost – per calorie, fruits and veggies cost more
– Time – if cost is a factor, you have to prep yourself
– Skills – I’m 45 and didn’t learn to cook until 32, the younger generation is even worse
I generally spend hours and hours prepping every weekend. And you know what? It’s all gone by Wednesday. So after a full work day and dinner, I get to clean up after dinner and start cooking all over again. Like last night, washing a head of lettuce, washing and chopping a very large head of broccoli (but only $0.99!) and slicing a cantaloupe. Who has time for that? many people simply don’t.
I live in So Cal, so I have access to fresh stuff year round. If you live in other areas, you don’t. And yes, you can buy frozen … broccoli, spinach, peas, beans, etc. – but where I live, that stuff is easily $2 to $3 a pound, if not more. Ouch.
Christina says
It’s very sad that people have not been taught to grow or cook their own food. My husband and I only started about 5 years ago and we are 45. We had moms and dads who worked and had to juggle multiple after school activities with 2-3 kids so easy and convenience was the way to go. We wanted our kids to know where their food came from. We watched Food Inc and decided to get chickens for eggs. We live in the city but are in an older neighborhood without many restrictions. We add a few more raised beds each year with the hopes of being almost self sufficient in the veggie department some day. We barter with co workers for potatoes and fruits. We share our experiences with others in hopes of encouraging more gardeners. We already have a list of people wanting to try our honey in a few years once we add bees to our backyard.
Gerri says
Wow, there are some pretty amazing responses here folks.
Its nice to have so many like minded people out there, I don’t feel so alone now!
Tisha says
I am surprised that people have overlooked the fact, that even when vegetables are available, they do not always taste good. For those on a tight budget, why spend a $1 on a cucumber that is tasteless and will not fill you up much when for $1.50 you can buy an entire box of snack cakes. Farmers markets are wonderful, during the growing season, and I think it is wonderful that farmers have found a place they can charge a decent amount that will hopefully give them a better shot at earning a living. For those on tight budgets, I can see where that might not be an option. I did not like many veggies as a kid because the canned ones and the frozen veggies were either slimy or tasted like cardboard.
I also truly wish that raising veggie eaters was as simple as exposure to a wide variety of fresh vegetables. My kids have been exposed to a wide range of home grown and good quality vegetables, prepared in a variety of interesting ways and still, one of them is still incredibly picky. He has seen a kiwi but will be darned if he is going to put it in his mouth. Fortunately, the other 3 will eat veggies (now).
Carol says
There are many issues at play here, economic and cultural, among others. If you have been privileged to enjoy a middle class life with food security, please don’t be quick to judge those who have not shared your security.
Gen says
I don’t think that there is a shortage of vegetables, there is a shortage of people that eat them for various reasons, from affordability and access, to just plain old do not like vegetables.
We have a garden every year, grow what we’re able to in our area and preserve whatever we don’t eat fresh to get us through until the garden is producing again. We make sure that our harvest doesn’t end up in the compost pile or landfill – preserve, give to others that will use it including family and friends, local food pantries, soup kitchens, or a friend of a friend that wants / needs it. What we cannot grow ourselves, we purchase from farmers and fruit markets, or trade with other gardeners.
Some people think that I’m crazy for having a garden, preserving food, cooking from scratch, etc…when I can just buy it from the store. I prefer to do things the way that I do them. I would rather not schlep a ton of food home from the grocery store. I like the cost savings (food budget, health, etc…) and I like knowing how my food was handled from seed to table, as well as what is in every single jar of food in my pantry.
We all have reasons why we do things the way that we do them. It’s unfortunate that so many families that would gladly eat fresh vegetables are in a position that they simply don’t have access for whatever the reason may be.
Michele B. says
I found out about an awesome non-for-profit organization in my county (DuPage County and Kane County, IL) called The GardenWorks Project. They work with the local food pantries to identify families with food insecurities that are interested in raising their own vegetables. They build raised beds or plant grow boxes and assign garden mentors to help these families grow their own food.
I’ve read about places throughout the U.S.that have community gardens that supply local food pantries with fresh produce and farmers markets are popping up all over the place to make fresh food available. I really believe we are at an important juncture in time to revive a “fresh food” movement.
I’ve inquired to my local municipality to start a community garden and they are on board with the idea as long as they don’t have any part in it. I am a complete introvert so starting a venture like this is completely out of my comfort zone. I think the whole idea of reviving “victory gardens” would not only bring local, fresh and healthy food to locals but build community. People are busy. People don’t have time to garden (my mom’s lame excuse :)). Build a garden and they may just come.
Jen Y says
I do think we look for shortcuts & food is a very easy place to take shortcuts.
I never really learned how to cook growing up because my mother was too busy with the daily care of my invalid dad. My husband knew more about cooking than I did & that wasn’t much!
It’s taken me years to learn how to cook healthy food that actually tastes good. For me, it was hard work, lots of practice & lots of wasted food – which with a growing family I felt terrible about the waste.
So i think it’s mostly convenience, laziness & finances. The few who are willing to do the work to learn struggle with the waste during the learning process.
I garden a little but if my family’s food depending on me gardening they would all starve. 😉 We are, however finally in a place where I have more room in our budget to eat healthy & I’m a much better cook with very little waste.
JC says
There are a lot of different things that go into this whole American’s not eating enough vegetables thing. There has been a lot of talk here about underprivileged and uneducated but what about the problem with those that have access to these things and just choose not to utilize them?
I’m a young professional adult, and most of my friends are the same, also most of my friends don’t cook. Not because they can’t necessarily, but because they just don’t feel like it. Planning a meal, going to the store, and then cooking the meal is just too much for them. They would rather go out, order food, or eat lean cuisine all while joking about the fact that they don’t cook. It’s almost a status symbol these days.
This leads me to believe that the problem is more cultural than anything.
Carol says
Agree. Both a CDC study and a Gallup poll (summary published here: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/09/27/sorry-poor-shamers-you-eat-more-big-macs-than-those-bad-decision-makers/ ) found that higher income correlated with more fast food consumption.
Mavis says
Very interesting observation. And I’d have to agree. I think it’s very cultural!