Shocking cost of fruit and veg

RE: ‘ City needs more veggies’ article. We have just moved back to Townsville from SE Qld after three years.

We are vegetarian and there is a good reason why people do not eat enough vegetables in Townsville – they are ridiculously overpriced.

Our fruit and vegetable food bill has skyrocketed since moving back, almost doubling.

In SE Qld there are many markets and farmers markets where you can buy bulk fruit and veg for $ 5 a box.

In every major shopping centre, fruit and veg is easily accessible, with bulk bags selling at under $ 2 or $ 3 for 1- 2 kilograms.

We were shocked to pay up to $ 1.20 for one piece of fruit in Townsville. If you have a family of five or six, and eat the recommended two pieces of fruit and five serves of vegetables each day, that adds up to a massive amount.

There is no reason at all why North Queenslanders should be paying these prices.

Townsville is not a small outback town in the middle of nowhere. We have farms within a few hours drive and there is no reason why locals cannot make arrangements with NQ suppliers for cheaper produce

Until more initiative is taken in this area, I don’t see the average person eating their RDI of fruit and vegetables while paying up to four times as much as anyone else in the state. VIOLET, Vincent.