Table 3.

Example of how a four-person family spending 30 % of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) budget on fruits and vegetables can satisfy Federal dietary recommendations for both food groups over 1 week

	Cup equivalents	Retail cost		Cup equivalents	Retail cost
Fruit			Starchy vegetables
Apples	7	$3·05	Sweet corn, canned	3	$1·43
Bananas	7	$1·99	Green peas, canned	3	$1·61
Watermelon	6	$1·21	Potatoes	16	$3·15
Cantaloupe	6	$2·30
Frozen concentrated orange juice	26	$8·57	Other vegetables
			Green cabbage	6	$1·59
Dark green vegetables			Cucumber, eaten with skin	6	$2·05
Romaine hearts	5	$1·65	Green beans, canned	6	$2·26
Broccoli, frozen	2	$1·41
			Beans and Peas
Red and orange vegetables			Lentils, dry	5	$1·11
Whole carrots, consumed raw	6	$1·44	Red kidney beans, canned	2	$1·02
Whole carrots, boiled	5	$1·20
Sweet potato	6	$3·44
Tomatoes, canned	6	$2·96
Total cost:	$43·43
Average cost per cup equivalent	$0·34

Family of four includes a male and a female aged 31–45 years, one child aged 10 years and one child aged 8 years. In June 2016, the household’s weekly food budget and costs to follow the TFP are assumed to have been $147.76 of which about 30 % was earmarked for fruits and vegetables. Highlighted items have been added to the basket above what was included in Table 2. Costs of products are from the US Department of Agriculture’s Fruit and Vegetable Prices data product. Prices are 2016 average retail prices.