The Impact of Regional Food Cost Differences on the TFP Recommendations

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 regional models with FAFH, and low-income consumers’ diet pattern. The preliminary results indicated that considering moderate FAFH in the TFP yielded similar nutrient and food group composition as the TFP with FAFH added in it, while greatly increased the practicality and adaptability of the recommendations. However, the regional TFP costs are all larger than the TFP with FAFH cost. These findings may be used by nutrition educators to develop healthful FAFH choices and readjust the TFP allotments for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants.