cost of a healthy meal

Cost of a Healthy Meal

Selena Pistoresi, Lisa McMonagle, & Tess Gordon

Special thanks to Bank of America Foundation for their financial support and commitment to

the Cost of a Healthy Meal Study

• 2010 U.S. Population: 308,745,538• Aggregate Food Expenditure: $1.167 trillion

Food Cost/Capita$3,780/year/365= $10.36/day

U.S Food Expenditure

Based on 2010 census data

Thrifty Food Plan: $5.37 per daySanta Clara County: $5.80 per day

*USDA TFP 2013. http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodCost-Home.htm*8% higher food costs in the County according to Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap 2011”

Thrifty Food Plan

• FAI Research Assistants• Tess Gordon, Lisa McMonagle, Selena Pistoresi,

Courtney Robinson, & Alex Fryé

• Internship Program• 16 interns over the summer in two separate sessions• Conducted and analyzed 20 interviews each

Research Team

Study Total

Sites Visited: 31Interviews Conducted: 704

Step 1: Conduct Interview at SHFB Site

Research Process

Dinner Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Note

You Ate       Food item 

Units      Cups, oz. etc. measure

Food Source

     Grocery store name / SHFB

Payment      Cash, SNAP, SHFB etc.

Price/unit      SCU store visit / SHFB est.

Price/serving

     Calculated by SCU 

Step 2: Price food items at grocery stores and calculate food costs– Go to specific grocery store closest to interview

site

Step 3: Analyze data– Enter food intake into Diet Analysis software– Enter data into Access database

Research Process cont’d

Current Findings

Age BMI # Children Exercise (days)

47.3 27 2 2 days

SNAP WIC CACFP NONE

118 85 3 410

How long does it last? How long does today's last?

2 weeks 2 weeks

Want to purchase more of # Meals Cost

Fruit; Vegetables; Meat 2.5 $6.00

Difference in Expenditure by Ethnicity

Nutrient Deficiencies

Nutrient Excesses

49% of our sample eat for under $5.37/day

55% of our sample eat for under $5.80/day

Average: $6.00/day

Findings Continued

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Maps

GIS continued

• 704 interviews collected– Goal: To complete the database (800 interviews)

by June 2014

• 49% of our sample can acquire adequate nutrition on the current Thrifty Food Plan suggestion ($5.37/day)

• Regional and cultural food cost consideration• Continue GIS and publish findings

Conclusions and Implications