Texas Mom Goes Viral After Claiming to Buy 12 Gallons of Milk Every Week

Twitter users have a lot to say about a Texas family’s milk consumption.

During a recent CNN segment on inflation, Krista Stotler expressed her concerns over the rising prices of goods and services, particularly the increasing cost of food. She and her husband, Larry Stotler, invited the network to document an average trip to the grocery store with their children in tow. Their total bill for a week’s worth of groceries? $310, which isn’t too surprising considering the Stotler’s household currently has 11 members: Krista, Larry, their eight children, and a foster child. But what did come as a shock was that fact that more than 10 percent of their budget went to gallons of milk.

“A gallon of milk was $1.99. Now it’s $2.79,” Krista told CNN’s Evan McMorris-Santoro. “When you buy 12 gallons a week times four weeks, that’s a lot of money.”

According to United States Department of Agriculture, the average price of a gallon of whole milk was $3.69 in October. That’s 30 cent cheaper than the average price in Dallas, which is about 33 miles from the Stotler’s home in Kennedale.

Krista and Larry went on to say that the rising food prices have forced them to make difficult decisions when it comes to feeding their children. Larry admitted he feels kind of guilty because of their spending limits, as they simply can’t afford to purchase high-quality healthy food. Though it’s an issue that plagues countless families across the country, it was Stotler’s milk budget that generated the most conversation.

Some Twitter users expressed disbelief over the “12 gallons a week” claim, while the vast majority of responses poked fun at the family over their milk haul. The latter group prompted McMorris-Santoro to defend the Stotlers as well as other households in their position.

You can check out some of the other reactions below.