Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is sticking with her widely mocked suggestion that poor people sustain themselves on a $3 “piece of chicken” dinner.
Rollins, 53, argued that chicken, poultry, fruits, and vegetables are “in many ways” less expensive than unhealthy dinner alternatives on Fox Business Friday morning.
The appearance followed the secretary’s Thursday boast that her team ran “1,000 simulations” and found Americans could eat healthily and cheaply on a diet of “a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla, and one other thing.” The shoestring meal plan earned her a round of headlines, social media mockery, and late-night TV jokes.
Mornings with Maria host Maria Bartiromo pressed Rollins on the plan and its backlash.
“Secretary, you are getting heat all over social media for saying that you can eat healthy for three dollars,” said the 58-year-old Fox Business host. “People are saying, ‘How am I supposed to get chicken under three dollars?’ You are trying to make this affordable as well, but sometimes eating healthy is not so affordable, right?”
The agriculture secretary, whom Forbes reports is worth $15 million, dismissed affordability concerns, saying her $3 meal plan was cheaper and healthier than alternatives like “Doritos and an energy drink.”
“Chicken, poultry, vegetables, fruits, when you eat healthy, and it actually is less expensive, in many ways, depending on what you choose,” said Rollins. “Less expensive than if you buy a fast food meal or if you eat a bag of Doritos or chips and have an energy drink.”
Rollins then outlined her proposal to have grocery stores that accept food stamps double their stock of healthy foods.
In addition to being widely mocked, critics noted that Rollins’ dinner suggestion comes as grocery prices have been on the rise throughout the Trump administration. The latest government data shows grocery prices are up 2.4% compared to one year ago.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Rollins’ $3 meal plan was achievable, but would deliver far less protein than what the USDA recommends a person consume in a day.
The MAHA movement has been under intense scrutiny for unveiling a new, inverted food pyramid that suggests Americans focus on consuming more protein, pushing beef, salmon, and avocado at the top of its new chart. Beef prices have been skyrocketing in recent years, and families can’t hope to achieve the $3 meal with a steak centerpiece.
As part of their push to get Americans consuming more protein, Rollins and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. celebrated legislation that allowed school cafeterias to serve whole milk to students again, which President Trump signed on Wednesday. The order revoked an Obama-era guideline that limited cafeterias to fat-free and low-fat milk.
President Trump, 79, claimed whole milk helped him ace cognitive function tests in the Oval Office on Wednesday, then nodded off as Rollins and Kennedy praised him for signing the legislation.
