![]() ![]() Food Spending Through The Yearsįood spending, in line with all other spendings, has generally risen steadily through the years. To figure out the average cost of groceries that American consumers are shelling out for food each year, look to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual Consumer Expenditures survey, which reports how much people spend on various consumer goods. Of course, there’s a difference between food spending guidelines and what people actually end up spending. Use the information that is helpful to you while factoring in your own needs and living expenses. These plans don’t factor in individual dietary restrictions or health needs. However, there are limits to these plans, as there is no standard for an individual household’s needs and eating patterns. They break down each plan by food category and tell you how many pounds of each food type is recommended based on an individual’s age and sex. Then, you can check out the USDA publications (there’s two: one for the Thrifty plan and one for the other three) that include specific recommendations for each plan. A family of four, with two children between the ages of 6 and 8, will pay about $1,476 per month.Ī good way to figure out which plan is best for you is to look at your current food budget and compare it to the USDA recommendations. On the Liberal plan, an individual aged 19 – 50 will spend $387.10 – $436.70 per month. Liberal: This plan represents the top quartile of food spending.A family of four, with two children between the ages of 6 and 8, will pay about $1,212.40 per month. An individual aged 19 – 50 willspend $302.70 – $357.30 per month on this plan. ![]() Moderate-cost: This plan represents the second from the top quartile of food spending.A family of four, with two children between the ages of 6 and 8, will pay about $1063.20 per month. On this plan, an individual aged 19 – 50 will spend $247.40 – $285 per month. Low-cost: This plan represents food costs for the second-lowest quartile of food spending, according to the USDA.A family of four will spend about $932.20 per month. On this plan, an individual aged 20 – 50 will spend $231.40 – $288.30 per month on groceries. It’s used as the basis for the maximum Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Thrifty: This plan, the lowest-cost plan, “shows how a nutritious diet may be achieved with limited resources,” according to the USDA. ![]() Not sure which one you should be looking at? Here’s a quick breakdown: You can use the USDA Food Plans and Cost of Food Reports to give you a general idea of what individuals and families should be spending each month. The USDA developed these plans as a guideline for what a nutritious diet looks like at different budget levels. These reports are broken down into each of the USDA’s four Food Plan categories: Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost and Liberal. You can find the most recent monthly Cost of Food Report on the USDA website. It updates these guidelines each month with budget recommendations that depend on the age and sex of each member of a household. Department of Agriculture creates the official recommendations for what households should be spending on food at home, called the USDA Food Plans. ![]()
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