FCSFN 456 Community Nutrition

Dr. Carol Friesen

Spring 2014

ASSIGNMENT #6: Market Basket Survey/SNAP

POINTS: 50 points
DUE: March 19, 2014

PURPOSE
The purpose of this assignment is to place the student in the shoes of a low income individual, and in so
doing, discover how difficult it can be to prepare menus and meals that are interesting, nutritious and
within the allotted budget. You will be conducting a Market Basket Survey and then using the items you
purchased to plan a ONE DAY meal using the food you priced that MEETS the DRI for the nutrients specified.
For menu ideas, be sure to use this outstanding resource, particularly pages 14-17:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/MiscPubs/FoodPlansRecipeBook.pdf.

Thrifty Food Plan

The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), a fundamental part of the U.S. food guidance system and the basis for
maximum SNAP allotment, was revised by USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), with
assistance from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Economic Research Service (ERS), and Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) in 2006. The TFP provides a representative healthful and minimal cost meal plan
that shows how a nutritious diet may be achieved with limited resources. The Plan assumes that all
purchased food is consumed at home. The current dollar amounts for the thrifty food plan can always be
retrieved at http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodCost-Home.htm. As of February 16, 2014, the MOST a
family of four with two children 5 years of age and young can receive is $127.60 per week or $552.90 per
month. The prices are updated every month, with typically a 2 month delay (in other words, today I could
only get the December 2013 prices).

SITUATION
Assume you living in a household with one adult and two children under the age of 6 (one is 3, the other 6).
You have been offered a job at McDonald’s making minimum wage ($7. 25/hour; 40 hours per week;
$290/week BEFORE taxes. Your income would be reduced by the following taxes: 10% federal, 3.5% state,
1% county, and 6.5% FICA, leaving you a take home check of $229.10 per week. Unfortunately, day care for
your two children costs $200 per week. Thus you have chosen to remain at home with your children and
apply for TANF and SNAP benefits. If you are a female, you receive the maximum SNAP (Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program) allocation of $37.50 per week. If you are a male, you receive $42.20 per
month. You get $23.40 for your 3 year old; you get $31.20 for your 6 year old. Thus, your total SNAP
benefits will be $92.10/week ($13.157 per day) if you are a female or $96.80/week ($13.83 per day) if you
are a male.

ASSIGNMENT Part 1:
1. Your task is to develop a one-day menu for three people (yourself and your two children) that meets the Thrifty
Food plan financial guidelines AND meets the MyPlate recommendations for YOUR AGE/GENDER and it must
meet at least 75% of the DRI for PROTEIN, FIBER, VITAMINS A, C and FOLIC ACID and the minerals CALCIUM and
IRON. You can use whatever resources you want to achieve this task. I STRONGLY URGE YOU to use the USDA
website and the Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals, including getting ideas of menus on page 14-17.
2. Open the USDA thrifty meal plan week 1 food list found on page 70-71 of the Recipes and Tips for Healthy,
Thrifty Meals. You can go to a grocery store of your choice and price the items on the Market Basket list.
 However, to save you time, I have uploaded a file that lists the prices of these items from Walmart in Muncie.
Note the difference between the AMOUNTS NEEDED to make the recipes vs. the amount you had to purchase.
3. If you were to do this on your own, you would use the Market Basket Survey excel spread sheet to list all the
items from the first week shopping list along with the original size listed. In the second column, you would
list the actual size you found in the grocery. In the third column, you would list the price of the actual item
found. When you had priced everything, you would simply add it all up and list a grand total of the cost.
BUT, this is only part of the story….and it is so darn time consuming. Thus, I have given you a spreadsheet
with the Walmart prices already listed. You can use your time to develop nutritious menus and, if you have
to run to the store to price other items, you can.
4. You can read more about the Market Basket list if you click on this hyperlink.

ASSIGNMENT Part 2:
1. Using the Walmart price list, along with the prices of additional foods/items you need, your job is to design a
balanced one day menu (Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner and some snacks if you wish) for a family of three that will not
exceed $13.157 per day (female) or $13.83 per day (that’s for you, Jake!).
a. This menu must meet the MyPlate recommended number of servings for YOUR age/gender. To
determine this, create a personal daily food plan using the SuperTracker's MyPlan. Click on the
hyperlink to determine your number of servings. Record the recommended number needed and the
number provided by your menu on the template (past page of this assignment). (NOTE: You already
did this in your first assignment if you want to save a second or two).
b. In addition, you need to enter your menu in the MyPlate Food Tracker/SuperTraker to ensure you meet
at least 75% of your (just do it for the adult) DRI for PROTEIN, FIBER, VITAMINS A, C and FOLIC ACID and
the minerals CALCIUM and IRON. REPLACE the “XX” on the template with the mg/grams of each
nutrient and the percent attained on the template provided.
c. Type out your menu using standard menu formatting on the template provided (at the end of the
directions). Put your name on the menu page and upload it along with your two spreadsheets.
d. Make sure your menu meets standard meal criteria (e.g., color, texture, serving sizes)
e. Make sure the meal includes food people would really eat!!
2. When designing your menus, I encourage you to use these sources – remember the food list was designed
based on the recipes included in the Food Plans Recipe Book:
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/MiscPubs/FoodPlansRecipeBook.pdf and
http://recipefinder.nal.usda.gov/.
3. Use the second spreadsheet entitled “Grocery Spreadsheet 2014,” show the cost of the unit, the number of
servings per the amount purchased, the unit of serving (e.g., cup, ounce, ‘each’), the number of servings used,
and the total cost per serving. Each of these variables is included in the spreadsheet for your convenience.
Please note there are two examples -- please DELETE these examples before you save your final spreadsheet!
a. As an example, if you bought loaf of bread for $1.89 it will contain about 20 slices. If you need
sandwiches for 4 people, you will use 8 slices of bread at a cost of $ .75.
b. If a can of soup costs $.89 and serves 4 people, the cost will be .89 for the one day.
5. Cost all of your items in your one day menu and don't go over $13.157 (females) or $13.83 (Jake).
6. For the sake of simplicity, pretend you don't use "coupons". Make sure to use the Nutrition Label and
any other references necessary to determine the number of servings per unit of food purchased (i.e.,
the AAFCS’s Food: A Handbook of Terminology, Purchasing and Preparation or your quantity food
text).
7. NOTE: I have uploaded an excellent example from 2 years ago; this will help you “see” what I expect.
REFLECTION:
After you have completed your pricing, menu development, and costing, I want you to reflect on the following
questions and write a 1-2 page reflection/response to these questions:
1. Were you able to provide balanced meals at this cost? Was this difficult for you?
2. How hard would it be to do this if you only had a 10th grade education and no nutrition education?
3. Why do you suppose so many people who use SNAP benefits are overweight???
Name: Anna Beynon

Assignment #6 Market Basket/SNAP Assignment

Daily Menu

Breakfast
Orange Juice
Cooked Rice Cereal with
Long Grain Enriched Rice, Low fat
Milk, Sugar, and Cinnamon
Banana

Lunch
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Sandwich on Wheat Bread
Carrot and Cucumber Sticks
Apple Slices
Low fat Milk

Dinner
Beef Pot Roast with
Beef Chuck Roast, Onion, Orange
Juice, Allspice, Pepper, and
Whole Wheat Noodles,
Peas and Carrots
Low fat Milk

Nutrient Analysis

Food # Servings # Servings

Group Recommended In Menu Nutrient % DRI
Grain 6 oz 5 oz Calories 1643 kcal 82 %
Fruit 2c 2¼c Protein 82 gm 178 %
Vegetable 2½c 2c Fiber 26 gm 104 %
Dairy 3c 3c Vitamin A 1520 RE 217 %
Protein 5 ½ oz 5 oz Vitamin C 85 mg 113 %
Folic Acid 377 mcg 94 %
Calcium 1181 mg 118 %
Iron 14 mg 77 %
 Personal Reflection

Creating this menu really opened up my eyes to how difficult it can be. Developing a menu that

met 75% of the given nutrients and keeping it within a certain budget took quite a bit of planning and work.

This is definitely not something that can be done quickly and without proper preparation. Before going to

the store I had to develop a menu and I was able to do that with minimal issues due to my education, but I

can see that individuals who do not have an education have trouble figuring out where to start. When

going to the store I used all store brands and made sure my recipes were extremely simple with minimal

ingredients to help keep the cost down. Once I plugged my values in and saw where I was with DRI’s and

the recommended servings, I had exceeded the amount of fruit needed and was under on the amount of

vegetables needed so I had to go back to the store. I took out a fruit at lunch and added in a vegetable.

Other than that, I was really fortunate in that I was able to meet 75% of the DRI’s required. I am a senior

student studying dietetics and this was no easy task for me. Even with all my education, I failed the first

time and had to go back to the store and edit my menu. I can only imagine how difficult this task is for

individuals who do not have an education, or who do have an education, but not in nutrition.

I have always been someone who believes that if I am going to pay taxes and my tax dollars are

going to pay for someone else’s food, then they should have to buy nutritionally beneficial foods. Well, I

still have that belief, however, now I understand how hard that is and can sympathize with individuals in

that situation. It is an extremely daunting task and now I understand why they may be tempted to take the

easy way out and buy more convenient foods. However, I believe this is on us, dietitians, nutritionists, etc.

We need to educate these individuals and make this more manageable somehow. I know, easier said than

done, but I feel like there has to be a way. We are responsible for helping these individuals plan meals for

the week and grocery lists that can give them the most meals with the most nutritional value possible. This

assignment has motivated me and definitely changed my perspective on government sponsored programs.