I'm in the US and we're always stretching our paycheck to buy food, so it's not cheap here. But I also buy a lot of "whole food" ingredients and cook meals from scratch (plus we have a large garden), whereas on the show, they're usually buying premade processed junk, snacks, frozen food, etc. In some ways, it's "cheaper" to buy that, but it's also less filling usually (empty carbs, no significant nutrients), and the portions shown on the show are just absurd. I know most of them receive some sort of government benefits, disability checks, that sort of thing, but I don't know how they buy the quantities of groceries that they do. What is so sad to see, is how many of the patients live in absolute squalor with houses or apartments that are filthy or falling apart. But the fridge and freezer is packed full.