To the best of my knowledge, healthy food <i>is</i> in fact more expensive.  This is not only the conventional wisdom, here[0] is a meta-analysis of studies from 29 countries which supports the hypothesis.  For many people, eating healthy is just out of reach.<p>You may have been a college student on a tight budget, but presumably a) you were only feeding yourself, b) you had ready access to healthy options, which many people in poorer parts of the US in particular do not, thus increasing the price dramatically when you factor in travel, and c) while you may have had limited funds, I&#x27;d wager they were largely discretionary, i.e. you also had a meal plan, or some other form of financial support so that if you exceeded your means you would not go hungry.  <i>Most</i> college students are fairly well insulated from immediate financial ruin, via parental support and government aid.  When you are living paycheck to paycheck, and not making much at that, the difference of a few dollars can be huge.<p>[0] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;bmjopen.bmj.com&#x2F;content&#x2F;3&#x2F;12&#x2F;e004277.full?sid=820d6e1a-280e-47a6-b8c5-498bfa4657e3" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;bmjopen.bmj.com&#x2F;content&#x2F;3&#x2F;12&#x2F;e004277.full?sid=820d6e1...</a>