meal prep grid

Sources and data dates

Food nutrition, storage, prices and budget reports come from identified USDA and BLS records. Each value carries its source or an explicit calculation label.

Reviewed 2026-09-30.

FoodData Central

SR Legacy ingredient records from the April 2018 data release, published in April 2019. The April 2026 Foundation dataset was also reviewed; the recipe catalogue uses a consistent set of generic SR records. Source IDs and raw download checksums are retained.

FoodKeeper snapshot access

The official file was inaccessible from this environment. An unmodified mirrored USDA v128 file matches the independently published whole-file SHA-256 037df0d301126acd8a48824506f04d49d8be1a1144b81fa69e4170228dc2e91a. Both the access manifest and the original 661 product rows are retained. Its upstream revision is September 6, 2018; retrieval is September 30, 2026.

Latest budget and price index

The budget pages use the August 2026 USDA report, issued September 2026. Their figures were compared with the actual PDFs, rather than relying on older July search snippets. The ingredient-price model uses the BLS API’s August 2026 food-at-home index.

Common questions

Is Meal Prep Grid affiliated with USDA?

No. It is an independent site that attributes the public source data. USDA and BLS do not endorse the recipes or planner.

Are the recipes copied from other sites?

No. Names and instructions were written for this catalogue. Nutrient and storage facts use identified federal data.

Are the plan targets recommendations?

No. The planner checks the targets you enter, without deciding your individual dietary needs.

How do I verify an answer?

Use the sources linked beside the data, check the exact preparation and date, and follow stricter package or professional guidance.

Check the sources

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