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3h ago

Agriculture Secretary Faces Viral Backlash Over $3 Meal Claim as CPI Shows Food Costs Climbing

The comments accompanied new federal diet guidance promoting higher protein, dairy and healthy fats with reduced whole grains.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins (C) speaks as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump look on during a bill signing in the Oval Office of the White House on January 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump is expected to sign a series of bills including the "Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act" to allow the sale of whole milk in school cafeterias across the country.
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Overview

  • Brooke Rollins said Americans can meet nutritional needs on $9 a day and that a healthy meal can cost about $3, citing over 1,000 USDA simulations.
  • In a NewsNation interview, she described an example meal as a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla, and another item.
  • Government data showed food prices rose 0.7% month over month in the latest CPI report, with notable year-over-year increases for staples such as beef.
  • Rollins also asserted grocery costs are coming down, a claim widely challenged by journalists and commenters pointing to the CPI figures.
  • Her remarks spread quickly online, drawing ridicule that labeled the suggested fare a “prison” or “depression” meal and questioning the realism of the modeling.