Why the new cover?

Since the first edition was released, I have sat at market stalls and responded to comments online that a $30 per week, per person budget is impossible. No way could someone feed themselves for such a small amount. This figure was based on a household of 3 adults or two adults and two children at $90 per week. Every step of the way, the first edition showed how.

The intention was to share the most nutritionally dense, cost-effective foods to cover your most important vitamins and minerals. It is based on sound economic principles and government food composition data from Australia and the U.S.A.

In July 2024 a round table discussion with the publisher, publicist and I, resulted in a new book cover and an increase in the weekly budget from $30 per week to $50. Ironically, the main reason for this was the reluctance of Australians to believe a $30 per person budget was possible and by then it was only just possible.

The reliance on basic foods such as flour and pulses, sheltered those following these plans from the worst impacts of food inflation in 2023/2024. Most of the core ingredients in this book such as chickpeas, lentils and flour, did not change in price at all.

Where substantial increases occurred, it was in "premium" food options such as cooked chicken, chia seeds and olive oil. For each, there were low-cost alternatives. However, it is better to under-promise and over-deliver, so the minimum budget has been shifted up to $50 per person per week for the second edition. The prediction remains that food prices on the most basic foods will remain stable in the medium term both in Australia, and generally across the globe (assuming there are no new outbreaks of political unrest, pandemics etc).

This brings us to the crux of the issue - the reason this book exists. We all need a fallback plan to ensure that our health is not compromised even when healthy food prices go beyond our budget.

Food prices can, and will, change - the principles this book teaches you will not, wherever you live, whatever your circumstances.

The image of Australian currency is replaced by the analogy of "bringing home the bacon and saving it, through food choices." (With a sprinkling of humour thrown in).

While the subtitle is for Australian currency, I caution against assumptions that this will translate directly to other countries. If your currency is the pound sterling, it would be tempting to expect that after converting fifty Australian dollars, you can manage a per-person budget from £26. Or if you're American you can manage it for $33.00 U.S.D.

My advice? Possibly.

Food affordability has many cogs operating in the background. Access to nearby farming land, government policy and income levels all have more influence than international exchange rates. I might think that food is ridiculously cheap in Syria because of my favourable exchange rate. The locals however, are living in a country routinely ranked as having the worst Food Security according to the thinktank Economic Impact.

The resulting food affordability pattern globally is a patchwork of winners and losers even within a country or region. New York is more expensive than Tallahassee. Paris is more expensive than Berlin.

If you live outside of Australia and New Zealand, I suggest that you start by selecting an amount that is 50% of what you currently spend. At the end of five weeks, review. You might be able to go even lower. Wherever the price ends up in your town, you know how low you can go using these strategies.

Wherever you are in the world this book has you covered.