Why Reddit Thinks Taco Bell's $1 Menu Is On 'Life Support'

It was not all that long ago that we, along with many other fast food fans, were singing the praises of Taco Bell's dollar menu. Taco Bell introduced its value menu items more than 30 years ago, per The New York Times, and until recently, it included as many as 21 items that you could actually purchase for $1 (via Delish). And that's quite a few more than most other fast-food restaurant chains were offering in terms of value. 

But things have changed over the last year and a half. Initially, that was a good thing for fast food restaurants, which have in some ways been thriving during the pandemic. More recently, however, the restaurant industry has found itself hobbled by a global supply chain crisis arising from a complex maze of issues, according to CNN. One of the results of this, in addition to shortages of menu items, has been an increase in prices, and Taco Bell is no exception. In fact, if you were to ask the Taco Bell fans of Reddit, they'd probably tell you that Taco Bell's $1 menu is on "life support." 

It's a sad, sad day for Taco Bell's $1 menu, according to Reddit, and that is assuming that Taco Bell can even claim to still have a $1 menu. Recently, a member of the r/LivingMas subreddit posted a screenshot of what appears to be Taco Bell's plans for its first "experience" of 2022, which includes $2 burritos and a $5 "curated" box of popular Taco Bell items. (In the Taco Bell universe, an "experience" refers to rotating menu items offered at "value" prices, says Eat This Not That.) To some Redditors, this would seem to indicate that $1 items may be a thing of the past.

"I'm shocked nobody has discussed this yet," wrote Redditor u/mman55, adding that the "dollar menu is on life support." Indeed, that would appear to be accurate, judging by the comments from other subreddit members. "My local store has been adding about 50 cents to every item so the dollar menu has been long gone for me," wrote u/deg24 in commiseration. "For me it hasn't been a dollar menu for awhile," agreed u/SnackeyG1. "Everything is like $1.30 or $1.50." On the other hand, at least one Redditor believes that even if the prices are heading skyward, "Taco Bell still has the best value menu in the game." To be fair, Taco Bell's website does call it a value menu, not a dollar menu, even if the prices are currently listed as $1.