Cost of Food Report for October 2019
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans can help us all eat healthy, be healthy, and save.
Expenditures on Children by Families provides estimates of the cost of raising children from birth through age 17 for major budgetary components. The most recent version of the report was published in 2017 and estimates the cost of raising children born in 2015. Currently, USDA is evaluating the methods used to inform this report to ensure they reflect best practices in the field.
Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review, formerly the Nutrition Evidence Library, is a team of scientists from USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion who specialize in conducting food- and nutrition-related systematic reviews.
CNPP commissioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Health and Medicine Division to conduct an independent study on the process to update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its annual report, Expenditures on Children by Families, also known as the Cost of Raising a Child. The report shows that a middle-income family with a child born in 2012 can expect to spend about $241,080 ($301,970 adjusted for projected inflation) for food, shelter, and other necessities associated with child-rearing expenses over the next 17 years.
The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans outline nutrient-dense foods and beverages, their amounts, and associated costs that can be purchased on three successively higher budgets, each supporting a healthy diet through nutritious meals and snacks at home. The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans are used by various federal and state agencies and the court system.
The Thrifty Food Plan, 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, with assistance from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, Economic Research Service, and Agricultural Research Service. The TFP provides a representative healthful and minimal cost meal plan that shows how a nutritious diet may be achieved with limited resources. The plan assumes that all purchased food is consumed at home.
This summary report presents historical data on the nutrient content of the U.S. food supply from 1909-2004. The data and trends presented in this report are invaluable for monitoring the potential of the food supply to meet nutritional needs; for examining relationships between food supplies, diet, and health; and for examining dietary trends of Americans