QUICK ANSWER
A family of four (two adults, kids 6–8 and 9–11) at the USDA moderate plan level has an estimated cost of about $1388.73 a month on food at home — $1023.45 on the thrifty plan. Add your own household below for your number.
Your household, your estimate.
How the estimate works.
The USDA publishes four food plans — Thrifty, Low-cost, Moderate and Liberal — with a weekly cost per person by age and sex, updated monthly for inflation. We add up your household’s members, apply the USDA’s household-size adjustment (smaller households pay a little more per head), and convert weekly to monthly using ×4.333. Small differences from a published reference-family total can result from summing the USDA’s rounded per-person figures.
- Thrifty is the lowest-cost nutritious basket; SNAP benefit levels are based on it.
- Low-cost still assumes careful home cooking with a little more variety.
- Moderate is the middle cost level in the USDA range.
- Liberal reflects more convenience items and premium choices.
These are food-at-home figures: restaurant meals, takeout and delivery are not included. Your city, stores and brands will move the real number — treat it as a benchmark, not a bill.
Ways to spend less.
Price your actual list.
Add what you buy and estimate a total from dated Walmart price records.
Stop paying for food you throw out.
Plan around pack sizes so spare ingredients already have a job.
Shop the list, not the store.
An aisle-ordered list is the simplest defence against impulse buys.
See a real $25 lunch week.
Five work lunches, one shopping trip, priced item by item.
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Common questions.
How much should a family of 4 spend on groceries?
On the USDA’s August 2026 figures, a family of four (two adults, children 6–8 and 9–11) spends about $1023.45 a month on the thrifty plan, $1125.71 low-cost, $1388.73 moderate and $1678.60 liberal. Younger children cost less; teens cost more.
Is $400 a month enough for groceries?
For one adult age 20–50, $400 is close to the moderate-cost estimate for a woman and between the low-cost and moderate estimates for a man. For two adults age 20–50, it is below the USDA thrifty estimate. These are planning benchmarks, not minimum spending requirements.
What are the USDA food plans?
Four official diets priced by the USDA each month — thrifty, low-cost, moderate-cost and liberal. Each describes quantities of food a household could buy and prepare for healthy meals at that cost level, re-priced monthly using the Consumer Price Index.
Does this include eating out?
No. The USDA food plans cover food at home only. Restaurant meals, takeout, coffee and delivery fees are a separate budget line.
Are these prices for my city?
They are U.S. national averages. Alaska and Hawaii have their own higher USDA tables, and individual stores and ZIP codes vary. Use the cost estimator with the items you actually buy for a sharper number.
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