Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new dietary guidelines emphasize the importance of whole foods — but they’ll likely end up eating your whole paycheck.
Amidst an affordability crisis, the new rules may be good for your body, but unrealistic for cash-strapped Americans.
The Post found it would cost approximately $175 for a single person’s weekly grocery bill buying from Whole Foods Market on Amazon — if they stick to the high-quality options. It would be around $164 if they buy from a brick-and-mortar grocery. (The Post went to Morton Williams Supermarket on 140 W. 57 St. to compare prices.)
For context, a family of four would get stretched even farther, potentially shouldering $700 per week to hit the HHS target.
In the new outline released on Wednesday, HHS hit out at previous federal incentives “that have promoted low-quality, highly processed foods and pharmaceutical intervention instead of prevention.”
Now, HHS is emphasizing the importance of pricey products plentiful in healthy fats, such as butter, nuts, seeds, olives and avocados, and prioritizing “high-quality, nutrient-dense protein foods,” including eggs, poultry, seafood and red meat.
Since last year, butter prices alone have soared by 58%, according to a November report. ShopRite brand Bowl & Basket currently sells 8-ounce salted butter halves for $3.49 each, or about $7 a pound, while salted butter from Whole Foods’ more affordable name-brand 365 costs $4.29 per pound.
In order to load up on protein, options like steak, ground beef, chicken and salmon are key. At Whole Foods, a beef skirt steak costs a staggering $19.99 per pound. Ground beef by the 365 brand is $7.99.
At Morton Williams, boneless, skinless chicken breast hits $7.99 a pound, compared to 365 brand breast meat for $5.99.
You don’t want to forget nuts, either, though they may bust your budget, too.
A 365 brand 16-ounce bag of whole raw almonds is $7.99. For those who prefer walnuts, an 8-ounce chopped bag comes to $6.49.
Lest seafood choices be forgotten, a 365 brand 70- to 90-count bag of Key West Pink Shrimp is $17.99, and a 6-ounce portion of farm-raised Atlantic salmon rings up at $7.49.
The new recommendations come amid significant spikes in overall grocery costs. In November, just in time for the holiday season, a half-gallon of whole milk cost $5.99 — a whopping 50% increase over 2024 prices, The Post previously reported.
Meanwhile, meats, poultry, fish, and eggs experienced a 5.2% rise in price from September 2024 to last September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
