The Thrifty Food Plan Challenge: Eating Well for Less
Published on - May 9th, 2007 (Modified on - November 9th, 2008) (by J.D. Roth) Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski recently spent a much-publicized week eating on a food-stamp budget. His motive, he said, was to gain a new appreciation for the working poor. Rebecca Blood notes that “the Governor’s stunt is a little misleading”:
No one expects food stamp recipients to eat on only $21 a week (though I’m sure some people try). The USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan (from which food stamp allotments are derived) is spartan enough, but the most recent figures provide an adult male between the ages of 20 and 50 years of age with $35.40 a week for food—part of which will be provided by food stamps, and part by the individual, depending on their income. Regardless, the Governor’s point is well taken. It’s not a lot of money to spend on a week’s worth of food.
Kulongoski’s effort spurred Blood to action. During the month of May, she is attempting to feed her husband and herself on a “Thrifty Food Plan” budget using organic food. She doesn’t know if this will be easy or difficult, but she’s chronicling the process. Her budget is $74.00 per week. During the first week, she spent $65.46.
Blood’s project is fascinating, but I’m more intrigued by the US Department of Agriculture pages she linked to. The Cost of Food at Home page features monthly PDF documents from January 1994 to present. These PDFs provide information about suggested food costs based on a number of factors, including gender and age. They currently list four food plans: a thrifty food plan ($74.00/week for an average couple), a low-cost plan ($93.40/week), a moderate-cost plan ($115.20/week), and a liberal plan ($144.50/week). As Blood mentioned, the thrifty food plan is the basis for food stamp allotments.
The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion publishes a 76-page booklet entitled Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals (PDF). Many of the tips here are familiar to frugal cooks:
- Use planned leftovers to save both time and money.
- Do “batch cooking” when your food budget and time allow.
- Shop with a list.
- Use coupons when possible.
- Try store brands.
- Stock up when certain products are on sale.
- Compare unit price.
The booklet also includes a list of best buys for cost and nutrition, tips for healthy cooking, and fifty pages of recipes. Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals is also available in HTML format. Or you may order a printed copy from the government for $5.50.
Other information available from the USDA web site includes:
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including the handy brochure Finding Your Way to a Healthier You (PDF).
- The Healthy Eating Index, which is a measure of diet quality. (This section baffles me. It’s written in government-speak, and not aimed at the average person.)
- A list of additional nutrition resources.
Last June I asked GRS readers, “How much do you spend on food?” I noted that Kris and I were spending $400/month on groceries and about $200/month dining out. Those numbers remain unchanged. We’ve also discussed healthy food on an unhealthy budget.
[Rebecca's Pocket: Eating organic on a food stamp budget]
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I stumbled across this page while working on an essay for my college English class, and I am appalled that most, if not every, person that commented was “shocked” at the amount that goes into the food stamps allotment. Now, I am in a household that recieves SNAP benefits, and I can tell you right now, the $409 we are supposed to recieve is almost never enough to cover our food expenses. We are a family of 3, including a one year old with a milk allergy (so we are stuck using soy milk – almost double the cost of whole milk). We go through 15-18 gallons of soy milk between her and her father (also cannot drink milk). At $3.30 a half-gallon, that’s $118 and some change on soy milk alone! The main pitfall in the TFP/SNAP allotments is that they expect people to have time to make these meals from scratch. My husband walks an hour and a half each way just to go to work (working usually around 35 hours a week, just above minimum wage). I am a full time student, after taking my travel time into account, I am gone approximatley 50 hours a week (I spend 4 hours, 4 days a week navigating busses). I am in school for a 1 year certificate program that will help broaden my career opportunities (in turn helping us get off SNAP). Now, if there are 168 hours a week, and I’m spending 50 trying to get schoolwork finished (I try to do my homework during bus rides), I only have 118 hours left. Take 56 hours of sleep into account (8 hours a night) there are only 62 hours left in my week. It takes me 4-5 hours to finish my laundry at the laundromat, at least 7 a week cleaning my house, and at least 18 doing homework. I’ve only got 32 hours left! Showering daily? 3.5 hours a week, doctors appointments take at least 3 hours a week between my daughter and I. Grocery shopping 1 hour per week. I’m down to approx. 24 hours a week (3.5 hours a day). I try to get in at least 1 hour of exercise, and still spend as much time with my baby as possible. I can’t afford to spend hours and hours of my time cooking each week. It’s not “Do-able”
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Even though these are old posts, they are still relevent.People complain. They find food too expensive, they work and dont’t have time.They don’t have a chest freezer, and don’t utilize the one in their freezer wisely.Separating hamburg and milk(it does freeze) into smaller portions is worth it. With the extra savings, put can put that towards a second hand freezer.The husband drinks too much milk..adults don’t need milk.$30 week for 2 is plenty, even with meat added.Portion control is essential.Buying sales and reduced meats & produce is essential. If this is too much work for you, that’s ok..leave the sales for us, that are willing to save money and not eat junk food.
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