Food is a need for everyone. But how many people can afford a healthy diet?

Visual Capitalist recently released an interactive map that shows the percentage of people that cannot afford a healthy diet across different parts of the world. According to the interactive, "A diet is deemed unaffordable if it costs more than 52% of a household's income." The cost of a healthy diet is the lowest-cost set of foods available that would meet requirements in dietary guidelines from governments and public health agencies. It's vital for students to understand how to budget for food--and, arguably, equally important for them to understand how to make sure they're planning for a healthy diet.

Questions:

• The interactive says a diet is unaffordable if it costs more than 52% of a household's income. What is your reaction to this?
• How does the cost of a healthy diet as a percentage of income vary across different regions of the world?
• What issues might arise in a country where a large percentage of the population can't afford a healthy diet?
• How might living in a rural versus urban area affect one's access to affordable, healthy food?
• If more than half of a household's income is spent on food, what other areas of spending might be affected?
• What actions can you take as an individual to support the availability of affordable, healthy food options in your community?

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Be sure to check out NGPF's Budgeting unit for lessons, activities, and more!

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Looking for more interactive resources? Be sure to check out the NGPF Interactive Library. 

About the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan grew up with and maintains a love for learning. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a degree in Business Administration and worked in sports marketing for a number of years. After living in Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Minnesota, the call of education eventually brought Ryan back to his home state of Wisconsin where he was a Business and Marketing teacher for three years. In his free time he likes to spend time with his wife and daughter, play basketball, read, and go fishing. Now with NGPF, Ryan is excited to help teachers lead the most important course their students will ever take.

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