According to the current food prices in Sri Lanka, an average family of four has to spend a minimum of 2500 rupees a day to get a balanced meal, says Dr. Chamal Sanjeeva, Registrar of Hospital Administration of the Ministry of Health.

He said that this information has been revealed according to a survey conducted targeting social groups in selected districts.

“In the practical calculations we have made, we have realized that in order to have a balanced meal, an average family in our country has to spend at least 1400 rupees for one meal a day. Then dinner costs usually less than this so we thought it was around 1000 rupees. And nearly 500 rupees for breakfast. That means, with today’s food prices, an average middle-class family of four would have to spend at least 2500 rupees a day to have a balanced meal. You can see what I’m saying how tragic it is to have to spend 2500 rupees a day just for food. Then if we take it for a month, we can see that an average family needs to spend at least 75,000-90,000 rupees to take balanced meals.

Dr. Chamal Sanjeeva, the registrar of hospital administration at the Ministry of Health, said this while speaking to the media yesterday (16).