The Economics of the Thrifty Food Plan Joseph

The Economics of the Thrifty Food Plan Joseph Llobrera Gerald J. Friedman Fellow in Nutrition and Citizenship

How much does a nutritious diet cost?

What can $1 buy? 1, 200 calories OR of cookies 875 calories of soda 250 calories of carrots OR 170 calories of OJ

Change In Actual Consumption Needed to Meet Dietary Recommendations Increases Current Consumpti on Fruits Vegetables Grains Meat & Beans Milk Decreases

Change In Actual Consumption of Fats, Oils and Added Sugars Needed to Meet Dietary Recommendations Increases Current Consumpti on Decreases Solid fats Oils Added sugars

The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) • Federal government’s official estimate of a “thrifty” but nutritionally adequate food plan

Maximum SNAP benefit People in Household Maximum Monthly Allotment 1 $ 162 2 $ 298 3 $ 426 4 $ 542

USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan framework Choose a Plan: • Not too different from current consumption • Meets requirements for: – Cost – Broad food groups from My. Pyramid – Nutrients

How much does a nutritious diet cost? • Define “nutritious” • Determine how much difference from current consumption to become “nutritious” is tolerable

Different definitions of “nutritious” Specification 1 Adequate Calories Specific Nutrients (Dietary Guidelines) Broad food groups (My. Pyramid) 2 3 4 X X X X

What is the cost of a nutritious diet? • With large tolerance for difference from current consumption official TFP cost • With more lenient nutrition standards focusing on nutrients official TFP cost • With full set of nutrition standards and less tolerance for difference from current consumption greater than official TFP is required

How much does a nutritious diet cost? Try it out for yourself! http: //nutrition. tufts. edu/docs/pdf/fpan/TFPCalculator. xls Thank you!