Conventionally, fruits and vegetables have been the major source of micronutrients. However, with the rising availability of nutritional supplements, U.S. consumers no longer need to rely on food alone for their nutritional needs. Time-pressured consumers with limited cooking skills and...

There is a common perception that healthy food costs more than less healthy food. In this study we use a demand model for diet quality, rather than the quantity of food. Since in our data, total daily cost and diet quality are both calculated from the foods chosen, we account for the fact that...

The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) adapts a national average price and stipulates that all foods should be prepared at home (FAH). Our purpose was to calculate the TFP with regional prices and add Food Away From Home (FAFH) into the TFP model. Measures were calculated and compared across the TFP, the...

The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans, three fundamental parts of the U.S. food guidance system, have been revised by USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, with assistance from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, Economic Research Service, and Agricultural Research...

Most Americans consume diets that do not meet Federal dietary recommendations. A common explanation is that healthier foods are more expensive than less healthy foods. To investigate this assumption, the authors compare prices of healthy and less healthy foods using three different price...