Trump’s Agriculture Secretary Receives Harsh Criticism Over $3 Meal Claims

On Jan. 14, 2025, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins made a comment about how to plan an affordable meal while following the newly revised dietary recommendations made by the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The suggestion came after many were left wondering how they could follow RFK's meal plan, given the emphasis on more expensive grocery store ingredients like red meat and full-fat dairy products.

Rollins explained how easy it would be for Americans to make the plan work if they simply opted for meal items that consisted of certain things, like a "piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla, and one other thing."

People immediately pushed back at the Trump pick's $3 meal plan, citing numerous issues with its financial and nutritional value. Not only that, but many felt condescended to during a time when people continue to feel the pinch at the grocery store.

Rollins spoke to a NewsNation reporter about her suggested budgetary ideas, telling them, “We've run over 1,000 simulations. It can cost around $3 a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, corn tortilla and one other thing. And so, there is a way to do this that actually will save the average American consumer money."

The clip was then posted online, where people like Chasten Glezman Buttigieg, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's husband, mocked it on social media.

“Private jets and tax breaks for them and their rich friends, and one piece of broccoli and a tortilla for you," he tweeted.

On an MS Now video about the quote, people said that the suggestion from Rollins may have been a bigger sign of the times than people realized. "Call me old fashion but when the government starts recommended we ration food as the best option I don’t think things are going well," they wrote.

"Why is Congress allotted $90 a day for meals then?" another asked.

Those who are commenting on the cost of American groceries are onto something, according to NBC News, which collected data on average food prices over the years. According to the publication, which followed six staple foods including orange juice, chicken breasts, bacon, eggs, ground beef, and bread, prices are up across the board between Jan. 4 through Dec. 27, 2025.

And, when you consider the prices of the same options in 2024, when Trump campaigned on those things, prices are higher.

NBC News says that orange juice prices have gone up an average of 37.6 percent since Trump was on the campaign trail, and ground beef prices have climbed an average of 16.4 percent.

When you consider that many wages have remained the same over this time frame, not only have groceries gotten more expensive, but they've also become more unaffordable, since many people are struggling to stretch their budgets to cover the increased prices.