Foods You Can Still Get For A Dollar

Back in the day, you could get a whole roast chicken or buttered clams at a fancy restaurant, a dozen eggs or 3 pounds of sirloin for just $1. But time progressed and inflation did its thing, and now you'd be hard-pressed to get far with four quarters.

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Although $1 won't get you enough steak or chicken to feed the family — now sirloin is around $8.33 per pound — you can still score certain staples in 2020 for a dollar or less at your local grocery store.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of white rice is 73 cents per pound. All-purpose flour is 44 cents per pound, bananas are 57 cents per pound (unless you get them even cheaper at Trader Joe's), white potatoes are 79 cents per pound and white sugar is 61 cents per pound.

Data from the USDA shows that within the last year, cantaloupe, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, papaya, pineapple, red and yellow onion, red and russet potato, beet, bok choy, cabbage, carrot, cilantro, sweet corn, cucumber, red lettuce, grey squash and chayote all sold for $1 and under per pound.

Individually, you could get an avocado, kiwi, mango, orange, tangerine, a head of lettuce, a bunch of green onion, green bell pepper or a bunch of radish. Sure, that's a decent list of essentials, but you'll never guess what a dollar could buy the year you were born.