Key takeaways
- USDA's Thrifty Food Plan, its lowest-cost healthy diet benchmark, cost $236.30 a week for its reference family of four in September 2026.
- That works out at about $2.81 per person per meal, assuming every meal and snack is prepared at home.
- Smaller households cost more per person: USDA suggests adding 20% for one person and 10% for two.
- Unit prices, the price per ounce, pound or 100 g, compare value regardless of package size; NIST cites Purdue researchers who reported in 2024 that 82% of consumers use unit pricing when it is available.
- Plan leftovers inside USDA's 3-to-4-day fridge window, and freeze what you will not reach in time, so food you paid for is not thrown away.
A budget meal plan needs a target, and USDA publishes one: the Thrifty Food Plan, which describes a nutritious, practical, cost-effective diet with all meals and snacks prepared at home. In September 2026 it cost $236.30 a week for USDA's reference family of four, about $2.81 per person per meal. This guide turns those figures into a target for your household, then covers the planning habits that help a week stay under it.
The Thrifty Food Plan's September 2026 costs
USDA publishes the costs of four food plans each month, at successively higher cost levels: Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost and Liberal. The Thrifty plan is the lowest, and its reference family of four is used to determine the maximum allotment under SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Its September 2026 US-average costs, the latest published when this was written:
| Person (in a 4-person household) | Weekly cost | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Child, 6–8 years | $48.30 | $209.10 |
| Child, 9–11 years | $55.80 | $241.90 |
| Female, 20–50 years | $58.60 | $253.90 |
| Male, 20–50 years | $73.60 | $319.00 |
| Female, 51–70 years | $54.60 | $236.40 |
| Male, 51–70 years | $64.90 | $281.20 |
| Reference family of four | $236.30 | $1,024.00 |
USDA notes that these costs are for individuals in four-person households and suggests adjusting for others: add 20% for one person, 10% for two, 5% for three, subtract 5% for five or six and 10% for seven or more.
Turning it into a cost per meal
A worked example. The reference family's $236.30 a week covers 4 people × 21 meals = 84 person-meals, about $2.81 per person per meal. A household of two adults aged 20 to 50 adds the two individual figures, $73.60 + $58.60 = $132.20, then 10% for its size: $145.42 a week, or about $3.46 per person per meal. A woman of 20 to 50 living alone: $58.60 plus 20% is $70.32 a week, about $3.35 a meal.
Those figures are a benchmark, not a rule: USDA's plan assumes all meals and snacks are prepared at home, and the table is a US average (USDA publishes separate Thrifty costs for Alaska and Hawaii). They give your own spending something to be compared with.
Compare prices by unit, not by package
The unit price is the price per ounce, pound, 100 g or other unit. NIST, the US standards agency, says unit pricing "is the best tool a consumer has when shopping", because it lets you compare value irrespective of the container, and notes that Purdue University researchers reported in 2024 that 82% of consumers use it when it is available.
Unit prices also expose "shrinkflation", which NIST describes as products sold at the same price with slightly reduced contents. Its example is ice cream sold in 1.44-quart containers, against the 1.5-quart size once common. At the same shelf price, that 4% reduction in contents is a price rise of about 4% per quart, visible only in the unit price.
Plan with what you already have
Food you already own adds nothing to this week's bill. Before planning, check the cupboard, fridge and freezer, and build two or three meals around what needs using first. Pantry inventory and grocery lists covers keeping that list, and how to meal plan for the week the planning method itself.
A cheaper week, step by step
- Set a weekly figure, using the Thrifty Food Plan numbers above as a reference point for your household.
- Check what you have and plan two or three meals around it.
- Choose recipes that share ingredients, so one bag of onions or one pack of chicken thighs serves several meals.
- Write the list from the plan, and compare unit prices for the items on it.
- Plan the leftovers: decide which night uses them, and what goes into the freezer.
- Compare the receipt with your figure at the end of the week, and adjust the next plan.
Leftovers planned inside their storage window
Plan leftovers on purpose and inside their safe window: USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge or 3 to 4 months in the freezer. Cook once for two nights, freeze portions you will not reach in time, and check food storage times for raw ingredients: the FoodSafety.gov chart gives raw poultry and raw ground meat only 1 to 2 days in the fridge.
Easy Recipes & Meal Planner, one of our health and nutrition apps, combines a weekly planner with a pantry tracker that suggests recipes from what you already have and shows what is missing before you shop, which cuts down on buying things you already own.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
How much does USDA say a thrifty food budget costs?
How much does a meal cooked at home cost per person?
How do you use unit prices to save money?
Does meal planning really save money?
Sources
- Official USDA Thrifty Food Plan: U.S. Average, September 2026 (opens in a new tab)USDA Food and Nutrition Administration — accessed
- USDA Food Plans: Monthly Cost of Food Reports (opens in a new tab)USDA Food and Nutrition Administration — accessed
- Uniform Unit Pricing: Tools for Consumers to Fight Shrinkflation (opens in a new tab)National Institute of Standards and Technology — accessed
- Leftovers and Food Safety (opens in a new tab)USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service — accessed
- Cold Food Storage Chart (opens in a new tab)FoodSafety.gov, US Department of Health and Human Services — accessed
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