Monthly food budget for a family of 4.

Four USDA food-at-home benchmarks.
One clearly stated household.

August 2026 report

USDA reference family: female and male adults age 20–50, and two children age 6–8 and 9–11. No household-size adjustment.

Thrifty

$1,023.70

per month

Weekly: $236.30
Per day, weekly ÷ 7: $33.76

Low cost

$1,125.80

per month

Weekly: $259.80
Per day, weekly ÷ 7: $37.11

Moderate

$1,388.20

per month

Weekly: $320.50
Per day, weekly ÷ 7: $45.79

Liberal

$1,678.70

per month

Weekly: $387.40
Per day, weekly ÷ 7: $55.34

Amounts sum the published individual rows, then apply the household adjustment. The Thrifty family-of-four figure uses USDA’s published family total, which can differ slightly from summing rounded weekly rows.

What the benchmark covers.

Mainland United States; Alaska and Hawaii have separate reports.
All meals and snacks prepared at home; restaurants and nonfood household supplies excluded.
Sum each person’s published figures, then apply the household-size factor.
Published weekly and monthly figures are separately rounded; their ratio may differ slightly from 4.333.
These benchmarks do not certify that an individual recipe selection meets USDA’s complete dietary pattern.

The adjustment, shown.

Household of 4: sum the named people’s costs, then multiply by 1.

For the Thrifty plan, this example is $236.30 per week and $1,023.70 per month.

USDA publishes separately rounded weekly and monthly values. Our daily figure uses weekly ÷ 7; a month is not treated as four weeks.

A sample week below the ingredient cap.

$221.28 estimated ingredients for 4 people over 7 days, compared with the $236.30 Thrifty weekly benchmark. These are August 2026 dollar estimates from a broad price-index model, not a guaranteed shopping bill.

This is a cost illustration using equal 1600 kcal and 80 g protein targets per person, with vegan recipes. Those targets are examples, not recommendations or child-specific portions. This selection is not the USDA market basket and is not certified for full dietary adequacy.

Sample plan snapshot
Meal	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7
Breakfast	Tofu and bean scramble439 kcal39.9 g protein	Tofu and bean scramble440 kcal39.9 g protein	Tofu peanut oat pots386 kcal28.9 g protein	Tofu and bean scramble440 kcal39.9 g protein	Tofu and bean scramble439 kcal39.9 g protein	Tofu peanut oat pots386 kcal28.9 g protein	Tofu and bean scramble441 kcal40.1 g protein
Lunch	Tofu peanut whole-wheat noodles460 kcal33.5 g protein	Tofu peanut whole-wheat noodles459 kcal33.3 g protein	Black-bean tofu sweet-potato boxes464 kcal35.5 g protein	Tofu peanut whole-wheat noodles459 kcal33.3 g protein	Tofu peanut whole-wheat noodles459 kcal33.3 g protein	Black-bean tofu sweet-potato boxes462 kcal35.3 g protein	Tofu chickpea quinoa boxes455 kcal31.3 g protein
Dinner	Tofu peanut whole-wheat noodles460 kcal33.5 g protein	Tofu peanut whole-wheat noodles460 kcal33.4 g protein	Tofu lentil tomato pots515 kcal45.4 g protein	Tofu peanut whole-wheat noodles460 kcal33.4 g protein	Tofu peanut whole-wheat noodles459 kcal33.3 g protein	Tofu lentil tomato pots516 kcal45.4 g protein	Black-bean tofu sweet-potato boxes464 kcal35.5 g protein
Snack	Tofu peanut snack pots235 kcal21.6 g protein	Tofu peanut snack pots235 kcal21.6 g protein	Tofu peanut snack pots233 kcal21.2 g protein	Tofu peanut snack pots236 kcal21.7 g protein	Tofu peanut snack pots233 kcal21.2 g protein	Tofu peanut snack pots236 kcal21.7 g protein	Tofu peanut snack pots233 kcal21.4 g protein
Daily total	1,596 kcal128.4 g protein	1,594 kcal128.2 g protein	1,598 kcal131.0 g protein	1,595 kcal128.4 g protein	1,591 kcal127.8 g protein	1,600 kcal131.3 g protein	1,593 kcal128.3 g protein

See the groceries and storage plan

Common questions

Is this the average amount everyone spends?

No. USDA food plans are defined market-basket benchmarks at four cost levels. They are not an average receipt or a personal spending requirement.

Does the budget include restaurants and household supplies?

No. It covers food and beverages prepared at home. Restaurant meals, cleaning products and other nonfood supplies are separate.

Why is a one-person figure 20% higher?

USDA’s individual rows assume a four-person household. Its footnote instructs adding 20% for a one-person household and 10% for two people.

Is the sample week guaranteed to cost this much?

No. Ingredient costs use a documented USDA/BLS inflation model and edible quantities. Local prices and buying full packages can increase the checkout total.

Can the family sample set my children’s portions?

No. Equal tool targets are a cost illustration, not age-specific nutrition guidance. Use appropriate advice for each child’s needs.

Check the sources

Retrieved September 30, 2026. Read the calculation method and source dates.