Diets to Fit the Family Income

1936

National Agricultural Library

Farmers' Bulletin. Number 1757

Family diets may vary considerably in cost and still be satisfactory for good nutrition. They may vary, too, in the type and the quality of foods they contain and still be desirable, provided the assortment is wisely selected. A good diet depends not so much on the amount of money it costs as on the nutritive value of the different foods selected for it. Wise selection among foods is important for every family, but is especially so when the income is limited. The low-income family must be constantly alert to the need of selecting the most nutritious of the inexpensive foods. The family with a generous income is more likely to get a wholesome variety through the free choices it can make, but even in this case intelligent selection makes for a better diet than choosing at random.

How to select food wisely is, then, a problem every homemaker has to solve. To help her, this bulletin discusses in popular terms four diets that differ in food value and in cost. It first compares the cost of the suggested diets, since many families, especially those who live in the city, must be governed in their choice by the amount of money they can spend for food. The cost of the diets as given in these pages is based on retail food prices on the city market. One or another of the four plans will fit almost every family pocketbook. The bulletin discusses food selection from the standpoint of the nutritive value of these diets. And, finally, it suggests weekly market orders and menus typical of the plans for a liberal diet, an adequate diet at moderate cost, an adequate diet at minimum cost, and a restricted diet for emergency use.