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One thing I did not touch on while going over this example is that our research did not yield any concrete numbers. There was no way to tell exactly how much the supply and demand shifted.

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We also go into how Biases can affect our decision making in this example

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Fast Food: Because of how affordable or cheap fast food can be, it can lead to overconsumption and create negative externalities like creating environmental waste from trash, declining one's physical health, and burdening healthcare systems.

Home-Cooked Meal: Even though cooking at home can be better than eating out, it still requires taking time, money, and skill out of one's day, which could be priorities for many college students.

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Problem: Rising fast food prices & limited student budgets = unhealthy choices

Solution: Targeted subsidies for healthier groceries (e.g., fruits, vegetables, proteins)

How It Works:

15–25% discount on healthy items with student ID at partnered stores

Free or low-cost campus cooking workshops

Expected Benefits:

Encourages healthier eating habits

Reduces financial barriers

Improves student health & lowers future public health costs

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Comparing Costs: My Home-Cooking vs. Fast Food

Published: November 23, 2020

Written by: Emily Garcia

Source: Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW)

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This year I moved out of my parent's house. For the first time in my life, I am financially independent from my family and as part of my financial independence I decide how I feed myself roughly three times a day.

The dilemma that plagues me now is one that hearkens back to my days as a pre-teen on a school field trip. I have x amount of money in my possession and I am the only person entrusted with deciding how and where to spend this money.

As a pre-teen, I was usually so drunk with the power of wielding $20 in a mall food court that I spent every cent on a smorgasbord of junk food. As a 20-something, with a rent to pay and growing intolerance for lactose, I no longer have the option to allocate all of my financial resources to chicken nuggets and milkshakes.

And even though chicken nuggets are seemingly dirt cheap, in my experience taking the time to grocery shop and prepare meals saves hundreds of dollars of dollars in the long run. To break this down: My meal-of-choice at Chick-fil-A is an eight-count nugget meal with waffle fries and a Coke, which totals $7.33. However, if I were to prep my meal of choice at home, which is smoked salmon pasta with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, it equals about $5 for one serving.

As time passes, the amount of money saved adds up to roughly $24 in one month and $312 in one year.

Moving away from the hypothetical of eating the same meal three times a week, a more realistic picture of my grocery shopping habits would also argue the financial benefits of eating at home.

Each time I go to the grocery store I am looking to fill my cart with one of three categories: ingredients, snacks and a few treats. In total, I usually spend $55-$60 dollars each time I go to the grocery store, which is typically every 10 days or so. Ten days on a $54.21 grocery trip means that I am eating three meals a day, plus some snacks and drinks for $5.42 per day.

In comparison to fast food, there is no deal that will offer the same quantity of food at a price of $5.41 per day. McDonald's, a restaurant known for its arches and unwaveringly cheap prices, comes closest with its dollar menu. But even the dollar menu becomes costly to eat from since all items come without the addition of a side or a drink.

The quality of food on the McDonald's dollar menu is also lesser than the quality of food from the grocery store. The only vegetables found on the dollar menu are the pickles and onions on the cheeseburger. With a budget of $5.41, it is impossible to eat the two to three cups of vegetables daily as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

A study published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, show that people who eat unhealthy fast and processed foods end up having seven times the risk of early-life stroke (before age 45).

I still indulge in fast food every now and then, but I keep in mind the financial and nutritional consequences of my actions and remember that there is food at home.
Emily Garcia is studying journalism at the University of Georgia. She is a 2020 Cox-SABEW Fellow, a training program in partnership with UGA's Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management & Leadership.

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Comparing Costs: My Home-Cooking vs. Fast Food | SABEW

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By Emily Garcia This year I moved out of my parent's house. For the first time in my life, I am financially independent from my family and as part of my financial independence I decide how I feed myself roughly three times a day. The dilemma that plagues me now...

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Do you think cooking at home can save you more money compared to eating fast food?

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Key Findings:

Fast food = short-term convenience, long-term health costs

Home-cooked meals = time-intensive, but cheaper and healthier overall

Cost-benefit analysis & equilibrium model show cooking at home is more efficient

Stakeholders:

Fast food: Benefits restaurants, but hurts public health

Home cooking: Benefits students, grocery stores, and healthcare systems

Policy Recommendation:

Student ID grocery discounts (15–25%)

Campus cooking workshops = skill-building & cost savings

Long-term impact: healthier students, reduced healthcare burden

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Includes a personal reflection about fast food versus home-cooked meals

Fast food meals add up to hundreds of dollars per year. This money could go towards healthier and whole foods at the grocery store

Fast food has lesser quality ingredients than food from the grocery store

Those who consume fast food often are seven times more likely to have a stroke before they turn 45 years old as stated by the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine

Ultimately, home-cooked meals save you more money and keep you healthier compared to fast food meals

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Cost-benefit analysis between fast food and home cooked meals

Target audience: college students

We will compare the pros and cons of both options

After our research, we have concluded that home-cooked meals allow for a healthier lifestyle and is more cost-effective in the long run compared to fast food

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Whether the marginal benefit exceeds the marginal cost

Many college students are looking to save money, making cooking at home an attractive option

Allows for better long-term health and stretches your dollar

While cooking at home takes time and effort (the costs), their benefits (improved health and cost-efficient) outweigh them

Illustrates how the cost-benefit principle supports home-cooked meals

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Next best alternative

Cooking at home could be used for doing homework or studying

Despite this, home-cooked meals lead to healthier outcomes so taking the extra few minutes to cook will be beneficial in the future

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Goods that replace one another

Price changes affect whether a college student will choose to get fast food or cook at home for dinner

Most college students want to save money, so home cooked meals make more economic sense due to it being more cost-effective

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Costs that vary with the quantity of output

Fast food variable costs for companies: ingredients and labor

Fast food variable costs for college students: spending more money over time

Home-cooked meal variable costs for college students: ingredients and time spent cooking

Desipte increases in variable costs for both options, home-cooked meals allow for larger quantities of food and cost-efficiency in the long run

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Demand (D1 → D2): Demand increases due to rising student time constraints near midterms/finals, but is elastic due to price sensitivity. Supply (S1 → S2): Supply decreases as input prices (wages, packaging, ingredients) rise, shifting the curve leftward. Outcome: The new equilibrium results in higher prices and lower quantities sold. Implication: This makes fast food relatively less attractive for budget-conscious students.

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Demand (D1 → D2): Demand increases as students shift preferences toward cost-effective meal prepping. Supply (S1 → S2): Supply increases slightly due to expanded grocery delivery services, more budget-friendly private labels, and improved logistics. Outcome: Quantity increases while price remains moderate, keeping cooking affordable. Implication: The shift in equilibrium supports the idea that grocery markets remain competitive and student-friendly.

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In 2020, when comparing the actual cost per meal, the difference between fast food and cooking at home is pretty clear. On average, a fast food combo meal costs around $10.55, while a home-cooked meal comes out to about $4.35, especially when buying groceries in bulk and prepping for the week. Over the course of a typical week (5 meals), students could spend over $50 on fast food, compared to under $22 if they cook. That’s more than double the price for arguably less nutrition and no leftovers. Behavioral economics also plays a role here. Many students tend to prioritize short-term convenience over long-term value. This is a concept called present bias. Even though cooking is cheaper and healthier, it feels like more work. That’s why nudging students through policy can help. Like offering free campus cooking workshops, discounts on grocery delivery, or subsidized meal kits.

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How would you rate your overall energy levels after eating a home-cooked meal versus eating a fast food one?

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Fast Food: Eating only fast food can lead to health problems like obesity, which then impacts healthcare systems and an overall downgrade on societies health outcomes.

Home-Cooked Meals: If someone who chooses to cook at home with little to no cooking skills it can lead to a lot of food waste if their food does not come out right.

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Fast Food: Consumers in this case college students might not be aware or even care about the long-term effects and health risks fast food and even environmental effects fast food have, which definitely effects their decision-making between fast food and cooking at home.

Home-Cooked Meals: Again college students may think that inflated grocery prices are not worth cooking at home due to a lack of knowledge of budgeting, saving, and meal prepping at home.

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Fast Food: These massive fast food corporations and chains hold so much market power because of brand loyalty, strategic marketing tactics, and economies of scale, which can make it hard for college students to choose to cook at home.

Home-Cooked Meals: This doesn't have the same market domination or influence because it doesn't have major ad campaigns or brands to help influence the masses, college students might overlook this option even though cooking at home in the long-run has better health benefits.

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Consumers

Winners: Fast food consumers win because it's affordable, fast, and convenient especially if these individuals are busy.

Losers: Consumers who doesn't realize or are affected by the negative long-term health outcomes from eating fast food daily, leading to potential expensive healthcare costs and physical health decline. Also, there are people who want to cook at home, but they can't because it's too expensive or a major time commitment.

Fast Food Chains

Winners: Again, major food companies have economies of scale, market domination, and influential marketing tactics having consumers coming back and creating brand loyalty.

Losers: In the long run, major fast food companies could face criticism and backlash for the affects of their fast food on people and environmental health and well being.

Healthcare System

Winners: Not really a winner, but this system could benefit from having less related diet health issues and sickness if more individuals chose healthier lifestyle choices. They could also be benefiting from all these people who are getting sick from eating fast food daily and have expensive healthcare costs, but that's more immoral.

Losers: Again, they could lose when society or the public consume so much unhealthy food that it leads to higher healthcare costs like higher premiums for insurance, higher taxes to fund healthcare, and just an overall higher health care for everyone.

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In the fast food market, we’ve seen a noticeable shift in supply due to rising costs. Things like increased wages, supply chain issues, and more expensive ingredients. These changes cause the supply curve to shift left, leading to a higher equilibrium price and a lower quantity of meals sold. At the same time, its rising prices and growing awareness around health impacts have kept demand from increasing too much. This leaves students with a more expensive option that may no longer seem worth it, especially if they’re trying to save money.

In contrast, the grocery market is experiencing a different shift. As students look for ways to cut down on food costs, demand for groceries has gone up. Supply has also increased slightly due to improved delivery services, more private label brands, and stores like Aldi or Trader Joe’s being more accessible.

Using the equilibrium model also highlights some key economic principles. Fast food and home-cooked meals are substitute goods. As the price of one increases, demand for the other rises. There's also the concept of opportunity cost; while cooking takes more time, it brings other benefits like better nutrition. Another concept is elasticity. Fast food tends to have more elastic demand among students, meaning that small price increases can lead to significant drops in consumption.