I was living in New Zealand at the time. It's not as bad as the USA in terms of being a food desert, but it's not amazing either. Fresh meat and vegetables are

I was living in New Zealand at the time. It's not as bad as the USA in terms of being a food desert, but it's not amazing either. Fresh meat and vegetables aren't cheap. Being an isolated, mostly self-sufficient country means that vegetable prices are at the whim of the season and the harvest. If there's a bad growing season, vegetables can be up to twice the normal price.