What the Thrifty Food Plan Means for Your Food Budget
6 min read
When it comes to SNAP benefits—America’s primary food assistance program—you may have wondered how the government decides how much help families get. The answer is the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), a formula that calculates the cost of a bare-bones but nutritious diet. The USDA uses this number to set the maximum SNAP benefit amounts each year.
Food costs don’t stand still, which means how and when the government updates the TFP has a direct impact on whether benefits keep up with real grocery prices. For families relying on SNAP, those updates can be the difference between putting balanced meals on the table or stretching food dollars thin.
Understanding the Thrifty Food Plan is key to understanding how SNAP works—and what recent rule changes mean for your monthly food budget.
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What is the Thrifty Food Plan?
The Thrifty Food Plan is developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It represents the lowest cost of a healthy diet that meets federal nutrition standards. The USDA calculates it using national food prices, dietary guidelines, and basic assumptions about meal prep and food waste.
This number becomes the benchmark for SNAP: the maximum monthly benefit for a reference family of four. Other household sizes are scaled proportionally.
Note: The Thrifty Food Plan is one of four USDA food plans, alongside the Low-Cost Food Plan (used in bankruptcy cases), the Moderate-Cost Food Plan (reflecting middle-income spending), and the Liberal Food Plan (the highest-cost option used for comparison).
How are SNAP benefits calculated with the TFP?
In short, the formula for SNAP benefits takes the Thrifty Food Plan number and subtracts 30% of a household’s net income. Here’s how it works:
Start with the Thrifty Food Plan number: USDA sets a monthly cost for a family of four (for example, about $975–$1,000/month).
Scale for your household size: Smaller or larger families are adjusted up or down using USDA tables.
Subtract expected contribution: Households are expected to spend about 30% of their net income on food.
Quick example: If the TFP for a family of four is $995 and your household’s net income is $1,200, 30% of that income ($360) is subtracted. The result is $635 in SNAP benefits per month.
What’s changing with TFP and SNAP under H.R. 1?
Since the passage of H.R. 1 in 2025—the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—the USDA’s ability to update the Thrifty Food Plan has been sharply restricted. Instead of annual reviews, updates can now only happen once every five years, and any changes must be cost-neutral, meaning increases in one area require cuts in another. Annual adjustments are tied only to general inflation, with no room to reflect regional food costs or updated nutrition science.
The result is that nutrition assistance benefits will rise more slowly than actual grocery prices. Over time, that means less purchasing power for households and a harder time affording nutritious foods—even if benefits appear to go up on paper.
What happens to my SNAP calculation if my income changes?
If your income changes, your SNAP benefit amount is recalculated using the Thrifty Food Plan as the starting point. The TFP sets the maximum benefit for a household your size, but you’re expected to contribute about 30% of your net income toward food. If your income goes up, your contribution increases and your benefit goes down.
If your income drops, your contribution shrinks and your benefit rises, up to the TFP maximum. In other words, the TFP acts as the ceiling, and your income determines how much of that ceiling you actually receive.