Scanning the news wires yesterday, I came across an interesting item: The European Union, as part of a larger program, may soon start footing the bill for free distribution of fruits and vegetables to schools and low-income families.

Of course, the motivating factor behind the program is an overhaul of the EU agricultural program, but whatever the reason it's a step in the right direction, and one I'd like to see happen here in the U.S.

Take a trip to the grocery store and compare the prices of fresh produce to the prices of, say, Little Debbie cakes or frozen dinners. You can buy a Swanson Hungry-Man "XXL" meal, which packs enough fat for three people, well over 1,000 calories and very little actual nutritional content, for less than a full day's fresh fruit and vegetables for the average family.

It wasn't always this way. A century ago, produce was something most families grew at home, and if you needed to buy it you certainly weren't going to spend a lot. Somewhere along the way, things got turned on their heads. During the Great Depression, meat was a luxury, and that continued through the World War II years. When meat became plentiful again, we couldn't get enough of it, and our national pig-out has continued.

Don't get me wrong: I love meat. There are very few greater pleasures to me than sitting down to a perfectly cooked ribeye, seasoned only with kosher salt and fresh-cracked Talamanca del Caribe pepper and seared in a cast-iron skillet. However, it's not the sort of food that is going to get me where I want to be, at least not as a steady diet.

The bottom line is that it costs more to eat healthfully than it does to eat the processed crap which too many of us use for food on a daily basis. Until changes come at the governmental level, it's going to be that way. You can fight the problem by shopping at your local farmer's market, where produce is far fresher and a lot cheaper, but most farmer's markets aren't open year-round.

However, once you start shrinking you'll find some savings, too. For instance, in the bad old days I'd have to buy my T-shirts from KingSizeDirect.com. It's a great site for big and tall guys, with incredible selection and excellent quality. However, the clothing isn't cheap. It wasn't unusual to find plain pocket tees running $12 each or more. For my size then, 6X, there would be an additional charge of up to $10 depending on what I was buying.

I'm not yet into the XXL range, where you can get the dirt-cheap stuff, but even being a 3X lets me buy the essentials at most department stores rather than online, saving shipping charges and making clearance racks a viable option again.

Even more than that, think of the long-term savings when it comes to your health. Right now I'm laying out $20 a month for blood pressure medication, but my doctor has told me that once I get the weight off the chances are good that I'll be off the meds. I know a lot of you are also on diabetes meds, cholesterol-lowering drugs and a whole host of other goodies medical science has cooked up to keep us large folks from dying quite as young as we used to. Imagine being able to get off some of those? I've heard from dozens of you over the last couple of years who have done so, and even more who have been told they'll be able to once they get their weight down.

Yes, it's going to cost more to fill your cart with broccoli, carrots, apples, oranges and all the other fresh foods you should be eating. But in the long run, you'll save money in other ways ... and you might just save your life.

Got a question? Comment? Topic you'd like to see covered? Drop me a line, anytime!