The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), a fundamental part of the U.S. food guidance system and the basis for maximum food stamp allotments, has been revised by USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), with assistance from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Economic Research...

Data are available at: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodPlansCostofFood.htm

We examine the association between food expenditure and overall diet quality using a model where we assumed dietary quality is a function of health conditions, life style choices, total food expenditures, and socio-economic status. We use cross-sectional data from the National Health and...

The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans represent nutritious diets at various costs. This revision of the market baskets of each food plan using a mathematical optimization model reflects recent changes in dietary guidance and incorporates updated information on food composition,...

This publication is updated annually by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.

There is a common perception that it costs more to eat a healthy diet than a less healthy one. We derive a panel data model that accounts for unobserved specific individual effects to estimate the relationship between diet quality and total daily food expenditure. Since total daily diet cost 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...