Updates to USDA's Thrifty Food Plan Better Reflect the Cost of a Healthy Diet
by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
For the past 45 years, the USDA's Thrifty Food Plan has been the basis for calculating the amount of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that households receive. SNAP is a federal program that provides nutrition benefits to low-income individuals and families. These benefits are used at stores to purchase food.
The Thrifty Food Plan provides an indication of the U.S. government's expectation of food costs for a household. The plan represents the cost to purchase groceries for a family of four—an adult male and female, ages 20-50, and two children, ages 6-8 and 9-11. According to the USDA, this plan is supposed to reflect the cost of meeting "the nutritional needs of an average person consuming a healthy, cost-conscious diet at home." Although the Thrifty Food Plan cost is adjusted monthly for inflation, there has been no change in the foods used in the plan for the past 15 years. During that time, there have been changes in nutrition recommendations and in people's food habits. As a result, it was exceedingly difficult to buy an adequate amount of healthy foods using the cost calculations from the old Thrifty Food Plan.
The USDA recently updated the foods and food groups included in the plan. The updates are based on the cost of food, nutrients in food, nutrition guidance, and what Americans eat. Cultural factors and convenience were also considered. For example, the old plan's costs for legumes were calculated using dried beans. The revised plan uses canned beans, acknowledging that many households will not spend hours cooking dried beans. This change does not mean that households should not use dried beans; rather, it calculates food costs using canned beans. Other vegan convenience foods that were used to calculate the cost of a thrifty meal plan were baby carrots, packaged salad greens, and salsa. The "dairy" group costs included the cost of unsweetened soymilk. The new plan estimates that 24% of a household's food budget will be spent on vegetables, 16% on grains, 14% on fruit, 14% on dairy, 25% on "protein foods," and the remainder on miscellaneous food items.
For a family of four receiving the maximum SNAP benefit, the new plan would result in an additional $34 per week for a total of $193 per week. The amount of SNAP funds that households receive varies based on household composition and income. The hope is that this additional money will help families receiving SNAP benefits purchase healthier foods.
To learn more about the Thrifty Food Plan, see:
- fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/TFP2021.pdf
- usda.gov/media/blog/2021/08/12/thrifty-food-plan-what-it-and-why-it-matters
For low-cost vegan menus based on USDA's SNAP budget see: vrg.org/journal/vj2020issue2/2020_issue2_vegan_menus.php (These are based on the cost for the old Thrifty Food Plan. Nonetheless, they provide specific ideas for eating a nutritious vegan diet on a limited budget).
