Then you add the electricity cost and the seeds, and the maintenance time...
But it looks nice in a kitchen!
You don’t need a $900 gadget to grow fresh herbs, either, of course. But that’s one way you could think of it “recouping” the capital.
In a backyard 5gal/19l bucket, I could get 3lbs/1.5kg of potatoes or 3lbs/1.5kg of cherry tomatoes. The latter is a better deal.
For example, it is known that nutrient value in produce drops at an astonishing rate over time; so having locally grown food that you can pick and eat immediately means you’ll get vastly more benefit, beyond just calories and fiber.
Also, when supply chains get disrupted and your grocery has empty shelves, you still have good, healthy food.
You’re also reducing transportation effects, which is to say you are having a less negative impact on the environment.
Most of what we put prices on are ignoring real costs.
It's probably more of an issue in the pre-obesity stage, but since man does not live by bread alone any more than man lives by calorie alone, and given that a person can die of malnutrition with a full stomach, for instance by eating only rabbit or fish, I imagine that at least part of what causes the insatiable hunger or lack of satisfaction from eating that leads to obesity must surely be that there are some nutrient profiles that are missing from most of the food we have available.
That said, I prefer growing outdoors if you have the space. It’s a total different maintenance (with way more bugs) but it also doubles as decor better than my hydroponic setup ever could.