Urban and Rural Life

What’s for dinner? For many it’s usually a purchased meal. In today’s world it is becoming increasingly difficult for individuals and families alike to settle down to a homemade meal. Though the end result of any meal is to satisfy ones hunger, there are many factors to consider when buying a meal as opposed to preparing it yourself. The first is the cost associated with each meal. While a homemade meal has little extra cost to it restaurants often add taxes and a service charge. In addition to that there is the cost of passage to and from the desired restaurant. The second difference to consider when dining out is the health risk being taken. The cleanliness of the restaurant is of utmost importance. The freshness of its produce and the ingredients used should also be taken in to consideration. Finally the overall preparation time, the portion size and variety are all factors that there is no control over when dining out.
Firstly, there is the cost of food. Vat is one reason why food cost tends to be high. Home cooked meals have vat in the ingredients, but overall, the fast food will be more expensive. This is because they not only charge vat for the ingredients used, but also for the entire meal as a whole. This leads up to the cost of service charge. The preparation of meals at home is done by the individual herself. However, the preparation of meals in fast food places is done by the employees. Thus, there is a service charge so that the employees can be paid for their customer service. Thirdly, traveling contributes to cost. Preparing food at home has no cost because it is done in the convenience of one`s home. Whereas fast food has a cost because it involves transportation. Money is spent traveling to go for the food. Also, a fee has to b paid if it is being delivered to the person.
Why purchase fast food or junk food as it is also called, when there are many factors affecting one’s health, such as the freshness of the produce, the types of ingredients