Thrifty food plan costs vary widely across US regions and cities

A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior examined how the cost of the USDA's Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which serves as the basis for determining maximum SNAP benefits, varied across geographic regions, metropolitan areas and seasons from 2012 to 2018.

Researchers found that where a household is located plays a much larger role in the cost of a healthy diet than year-to-year inflation. ...