How Much Does It Cost to Feed YOUR Family?

Written by Shirley

Have you seen the most recent government estimates (released October 2011) for how much it costs to feed a family these days? The figures in these charts represent the government’s idea of the cost of a nutritious diet, with all meals and snacks prepared at home. I wonder how much of that “nutritious diet” involves processed food.

Personally, we have seen huge increases in what we have paid for food over the last several months and years. This part of New England is notorious for its high grocery prices and limited choices… the prices are even higher and the choices are even more limited if you are trying (as we are) to avoid buying products that contain soy or GMOs. I still think the overall estimates in these charts are somewhat high, but I also know that our food prices have risen substantially more than these figures represent.

Anyway… here are the most recently released figures. How do the weekly/monthly costs in your area compare?

GOVERNMENT ESTIMATES OF COST PER WEEK

For one child, age:	Food costs for one week Prices from October 2011
For one child, age:	Thrifty plan	Low-cost plan	Moderate cost plan	Liberal plan
1 year	$21.20	$28.30	$32.20	$39.00
2-3 years	$23.00	$29.10	$35.20	$43.00
4-5 years	$24.00	$30.30	$37.40	$45.50
6-8 years	$30.60	$41.90	$50.90	$59.90
9-11 years	$35.00	$45.70	$59.10	$69.00

For one male, age:	Food costs for one week Prices from October 2011
For one male, age:	Thrifty plan	Low-cost plan	Moderate cost plan	Liberal plan
12-13 years	$37.30	$52.70	$65.60	$77.10
14-18 years	$38.80	$54.20	$68.00	$78.00
19-50 years	$41.60	$53.50	$66.90	$82.10
51-70 years	$38.00	$50.50	$62.10	$75.30
71+ years	$38.10	$50.00	$61.80	$76.30

For one female, age:	Food costs for one week Prices from October 2011
For one female, age:	Thrifty plan	Low-cost plan	Moderate cost plan	Liberal plan
12-13 years	$37.50	$45.70	$54.80	$66.80
14-18 years	$37.00	$45.90	$55.30	$68.20
19-50 years	$36.80	$46.40	$57.10	$73.10
51-70 years	$36.50	$45.30	$56.10	$67.20
71+ years	$35.60	$44.90	$55.70	$67.00

GOVERNMENT ESTIMATES OF COST PER MONTH

For one child, age:	Food costs for one month Prices from October 2011
For one child, age:	Thrifty plan	Low-cost plan	Moderate cost plan	Liberal plan
1 year	$91.90	$122.70	$139.50	$169.10
2-3 years	$99.70	$126.20	$152.60	$186.20
4-5 years	$104.10	$131.40	$162.30	$197.20
6-8 years	$132.70	$181.60	$220.80	$259.80
9-11 years	$151.50	$198.20	$256.10	$298.90

For one male, age:	Food costs for one month Prices from October 2011
For one male, age:	Thrifty plan	Low-cost plan	Moderate cost plan	Liberal plan
12-13 years	$161.80	$228.30	$284.40	$334.10
14-18 years	$168.10	$234.70	$294.50	$338.00
19-50 years	$180.10	$231.70	$289.90	$355.60
51-70 years	$164.70	$218.90	$269.10	$326.30
71+ years	$165.00	$216.80	$267.70	$330.40

For one female, age:	Food costs for one month Prices from October 2011
For one female, age:	Thrifty plan	Low-cost plan	Moderate cost plan	Liberal plan
12-13 years	$162.30	$198.00	$237.20	$289.50
14-18 years	$160.20	$198.80	$239.60	$295.50
19-50 years	$159.50	$201.20	$247.50	$316.90
51-70 years	$158.00	$196.40	$243.10	$291.10
71+ years	$154.40	$194.50	$241.30	$290.20

All of the food costs are adjusted for a four-person family. If you have a smaller or larger family, you can still calculate the overall household food costs for YOUR family by making the following adjustments:

For one person, take the appropriate age cost figure amount and add 20 percent.
For a two-person family, take the total of the two appropriate age cost figures and add 10 percent.
For a three-person family, take the total of the three appropriate age cost figures and add 5 percent.
For a four-person family, no adjustment is needed… just add the four appropriate age cost figures.
For a five or six-person family, take the total of the five or six appropriate age cost figures and subtract 5 percent.
For a seven or more person family, take the total of the seven or more appropriate age cost figures and subtract 10 percent.

Bon Appétit!

Comments

Comment by Heather F:

I knew I was thrifty but… I can usually feed my family of 3.5 (I’m pregnant) each month on what it says it would cost to only feed my husband- in the thrifty category!
Comment by Phyllis:

I have 4 teenage sons and a husband who does hard physical labor. They eat huge amounts so I was amazed to discover that we are just above the thrifty plan. I needed the encouragement.
Comment by Susannah:

Thanks for this post. I have enjoyed the others you did and I was wondering if there was going to be one for last year. I agree with you – I think the overall estimates are high. I also agree that food prices have risen much more than the government talks about. I’m spending more than $100 a month more than I used to for groceries. We eat well but I am careful with prices.
Comment by Marina:

I have 3 kids under 8 and 2 over 12 plus my husband and me. 3 of us have multiple allergies and can’t eat alot of things. I buy alot of organics so I was pleased to see that we still come in between the thrifty and low cost plan. I think I’m doing well.
Comment by Cynthia:

We usually feed two people on $50 a week … one male and female in the 20′s. I think with the amount that they give for a college couple like us, even on thrifty at $80 a week, they could easily live on home cooked meals and not processed stuff.
Comment by SharleneT:

Interesting survey. I’m assuming it’s for people who don’t grow any of their own fruits and veggies. I know meats have gone ridiculously high, recently, and I’ve often wondered how anyone can feed their families more than one meal a week. In that vein, it seems that to live frugally these days you have to do the very thing most young people refuse to do — and that’s cook their own meals and garden. That’s such a huge money-saver.
Comment by Rhonda:

Wow! According to these charts my family budget should be around $659.30 for the thrify plan. Out of necessity, we are definately hovering closer to $400/mo and sometimes less than that.
Comment by AJ:

Wow- I work full time, have a part time job about 10 hours a week in the evening, I figured by those charts- I should be at 7685.50/yr and 640/monthly for the thrifty plan. I wrote down high ball park #s for what I spend thru the year… and I realize not everyone has access to the things I do- but here it is
900/yr-75/month at the Amish market
600/yr-50/month for beef we order from a farmer
150/yr- /12.50/month for canning supplies (includes any jars lids and seeds ect.)
300/yr-25/month for other meat like poultry, bacon,pork
150/yr-12.50/month for veggies since we can, foodsaver and only buy in season veggies.
200/yr-17/month snack food for son’s backpack and other little treats- I consider koolaid/tang a snack
*this is the most appalling one to me!
300/yr-25/month on SODA acckkk- this needs to stop
400/yr -34/month for incidentals- things I forget about milk,cheese,eggs that we get from a farmer, dish soap, deodorant and a buffer for when meat doesn’t get marked down that I can freeze or can for later!
that works out to 3000.00 a YEAR or 250.00 a MONTH….
I feel pretty danged good!

We cook from scratch and the boys are used to it- they love it- Hubby helps and encourages… do we go out to eat? Yep- once a month! everyone needs a treat!
Comment by Spendwisemom:

I feed our family for $50 per week. We used to have 4 of us at home and now there is only three of us. I like having the extra cushion so I don’t plan on spending less than we do. I feed us healthy food and good meals for that much. Even though we don’t live on food stamps, I wanted to prove that someone who got food stamps could live well on them so I took the challenge to prove it could be done.
Comment by Urbandad:

I’m actually currently doing an experiment with my 11 year old daughter. I am having her make the shopping list and going to have her come with me when we go shopping for things we need to price (like meats, etc.) Being in an urban area, there is limited access to farms for fresh meat, eggs, milk, etc. But I am giving her the initial budget to try to keep to of thrifty plan. My son, who has an eating disorder caused by him being a “super taster,” so he generally eats things plain (pasta, rice, chicken, pork), or just mildly flavored with some salt and pepper. Other than that, he doesn’t really eat anything else, but that’s a conversation for a different forum.

I’ll let you know how the experiment goes with trying to have my daughter be able to stick to budget.
Comment by Bellewiccan:

Thank you for this. now maybe my husband will realize that $150 is NOT enough to spend for 2 adults and a teenager!