Thrifty Food Plan, 2006

The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), 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 (CNPP), with assistance from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Economic Research Service (ERS), and Agricultural Research Service (ARS). 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. The TFP was last revised in 1999. The newly revised (2006) TFP differs from, and improves upon, the previous TFP in a number of ways. The 2006 TFP: • Is based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as well as the 2005 MyPyramid Food Guidance System. • Uses the prices low-income people paid for many foods. • Uses the latest data on food consumption, nutrient content, and food prices: the 2001- 2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and 2001-2002 Food Price Database. • Offers a more realistic reflection of the time available for food preparation, especially with increased expectations for work in assistance programs. Hence, it allows more prepared foods and requires somewhat fewer preparations from scratch. Although different from the previous TFP, the revised TFP is similar in one important respect: It is set at the same inflation-adjusted cost as the previous TFP. CNPP determined it was possible, for the 2001-2002 period, to obtain a healthful diet meeting current nutritional standards at a cost equal to the previous TFP’s cost.Thrifty Food Plan, USDA Food Plans, Diet Quality, Food Stamps, Cost of Food, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,

USDA's Healthy Eating Index and Nutrition Information

A comprehensive model is developed to measure the extent that nutrition knowledge and diet-health awareness, among other factors, influence an individual's Healthy Eating Index (HEI), USDA's measure of overall diet quality. This is the first study that rigorously attempts to examine variation in the index across population groups by controlling for personal and household characteristics and nutrition information levels, as well as test for the endogeneity of nutrition information. Results indicate that one's level of nutrition information has an important influence on one's HEI and that nutrition information and the HEI are simultaneously determined. Other factors explaining variations in HEI's across individuals are income and education levels, race, ethnicity, and age. Evidence supports the hypothesis that higher education promotes more healthful food choices through better acquisition and use of health information.diet quality, Healthy Eating Index, nutrient demand, nutrition knowledge, health inputs, health production, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Expenditures on Food Away from Home by All-Income and Low-Income .-. Households: Analysis Using USDA's 1985 and 1986 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) Data

Data f~om USDA's Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals 1985 and 1986, all income and low income, were utilized to estimate relati.onships between expenditures on food away from home and household characteristics using; household production framework and correcting for possible sample selection bias due to refusal to participate in the survey. Estimated income elasticities were .54 for the all-income and .68 for the low-income samples

FOOD SAFETY/FOOD QUALITY DATA

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans: 2003 Administrative Report

The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans, three fundamental parts of the U.S. food guidance system, are now revised. The plans provide representative healthful market baskets at three different cost levels. This revision of the plans incorporates recent developments in nutrition standards and dietary guidance as well as updates reflective of food consumption and nutrient content of foods. This revision also maintains a constant real cost for each plan

Thrifty Food Plan, 2006

The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), 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 (CNPP), with assistance from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Economic Research Service (ERS), and Agricultural Research Service (ARS). 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. The TFP was last revised in 1999. The newly revised (2006) TFP differs from, and improves upon, the previous TFP in a number of ways. The 2006 TFP: • Is based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as well as the 2005 MyPyramid Food Guidance System. • Uses the prices low-income people paid for many foods. • Uses the latest data on food consumption, nutrient content, and food prices: the 2001- 2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and 2001-2002 Food Price Database. • Offers a more realistic reflection of the time available for food preparation, especially with increased expectations for work in assistance programs. Hence, it allows more prepared foods and requires somewhat fewer preparations from scratch. Although different from the previous TFP, the revised TFP is similar in one important respect : It is set at the same inflation-adjusted cost as the previous TFP. CNPP determined it was possible, for the 2001-2002 period, to obtain a healthful diet meeting current nutritional standards at a cost equal to the previous TFP’s cost

The Healthy Eating Index: 1994-96

To assess and monitor the dietary status of Americans, the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion developed the Healthy Eating Index (HEI). The HEI is composed of IO components, each repre­senting different aspects of a healthful diet: Components 1-5 measure the degree to which a person's diet conforms to USDA's Food Guide Pyramid servmg recommen­dations for the five major food groups (grains. vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat); Components 6 and 7 measure total fat and saturated fat consumption as a percentage of total food energy intake; Components 8 and 9 measure total cholesterol and sodium intake; and Component IO examines variety in a person's diet. The HEI was computed for people 2 years of age and over and subgroups of the population using data from the 1994-96 Contmumg Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. Most people have a diet that needs improvement. Approximately 12 percent of the population have a good diet. and 18 percent of people have a poor diet. Americans especially need to improve their fruit and milk products consumption. Males age 15 to 18. in particular, tend to have lower quality diets. African Amencans, people with low income. and those with a high school diploma or less education also have lower quality diets. These findings provide an awareness and better understanding of the types of dietary changes needed to improve people's eating patterns