Kellogg’s CEO slammed for suggesting people eat cereal for dinner to save money

The CEO of Kellogg’s has been slammed by the general public on social media after an interview on CNBC where he suggested consumers could eat cereal for dinner to save money.

Gary Pilnick, CEO of the cereal company WK Kellogg, has been trashed on social media after appearing on a segment of CNBC’s Squawk on the Street to talk about the rising pressures of the cost of food.

During the interview, Pilnick explained the company’s plans to market cereal as an affordable and alternative dinner option. Categorizing cereal as “quite affordable” and claiming it can be a “great” option when “consumers are under pressure.”

The comments struck a nerve, with many criticizing the CEO on social media for being out of touch, and some even going so far as to call him a “moron”.

“He acts like I haven’t been doing this for years already…” joked one X/Twitter user in response to the clip.

But there were also users who found the comments insensitive. “As someone who grew up doing that, kindly eat a whole d**k.” One unhappy Redditor said. With over two thousand fellow users upvoting in agreement with the sentiment.

Cereal for dinner is nothing new for those who are living under the poverty line. For many poor families, college students, and unemployed, cutting back on balanced meals is already something they’re doing to try and manage the rising costs of living.

And it isn’t new behavior either. It’s something people have been doing for years, as a 1992 article from the Baltimore Sun tells us: “What do the time-crunched make now that they’re too broke to eat out? Cap’n Crunch, for one.”

There were also those who argued since the price of cereal is going up too, it wasn’t a way to save money at all.

“The price of cereal has really gone up. I’m not sure it’s the bargain it once was,” one comment read.

“$8 for a box of Cheerios… Don’t need cereal at that price,” agreed another.