Most Americans consume diets that do not meet Federal dietary recommendations. A common explanation is that healthier foods are more expensive than less healthy foods. To investigate this assumption, the authors compare prices of healthy and less healthy foods using three different price...

Conventionally, fruits and vegetables have been the major source of micronutrients. However, with the rising availability of nutritional supplements, U.S. consumers no longer need to rely on food alone for their nutritional needs. Time-pressured consumers with limited cooking skills and...

There is a common perception that healthy food costs more than less healthy food. In this study we use a demand model for diet quality, rather than the quantity of food. Since in our data, total daily cost and diet quality are both calculated from the foods chosen, we account for the fact that...

Data from NHANES are used to analyze the effect of the WIC program on the health of U.S. preschool children's health. A household health production model shows that WIC does improve the health of children, along with a higher poverty income ratio. Region of the country or county is also significant.

The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans, three fundamental parts of the U.S. food guidance system, have been revised by USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, with assistance from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, Economic Research Service, and Agricultural Research...

The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) adapts a national average price and stipulates that all foods should be prepared at home (FAH). Our purpose was to calculate the TFP with regional prices and add Food Away From Home (FAFH) into the TFP model. Measures were calculated and compared across the TFP, the...

Children today are consuming close to 200 more calories a day from snacks than they did in the 1970s. Replacing a calorie-dense snack food with a fruit or vegetable could reduce calorie intake and improve diet quality. Swapping common snack foods with a ½-cup serving of fruits or vegetables...