Volunteers at the Rosewood Avenue Baptist Church in East Austin give away boxes of groceries to about 100 families every month.

"If they went to the grocery store, you're looking at $120 they need for that box," church deacon James Jones said. "We accommodate green beans, corn, to get a mixture of vegetables and fruit."

Those are the very foods that low-income families are less able to afford. A new study by the University of Washington Center for Obesity Research found that fresh produce packs in more nutrients, but less calories, and is more expensive.

A thousand calories of junk food costs $1.76, according to the study. But the same number of calories for healthy foods cost $18.16.

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	Healthy food survey A new shows healthy food costs more than junk food, and many Americans can't afford it.

People who are hungry and strapped for cash are more likely to buy cheap, high-calorie junk food that quickly fills them up.

"But if you go to the counter to get your fresh produce and get a combination of canned goods and meat products, you've already jumped to $50, $60, to even think about feeding a family of three," Jones said.

"Finding the right nutrition mix for food-insecure people is very important. Type 2 diabetes and obesity are clearly related to not having good nutrition," Michael Guerra of the Capital Area Food Bank said.

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Healthy foods are also quickly becoming even more expensive, the study found. Their prices increased by 19.5 percent over two years. But the price for junk foods went down by 1.8 percent.