Retirees should budget between $625 and $934 a month per couple for food. That’s $7,500 to $11,208 a year if you’re 70 and younger, or just a bit less for older people.
Every month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture updates grocery numbers for 4 categories of meal plans–thrifty, low, moderate, and liberal–based on the consumer price index.1
There’s a reason the numbers sound so high. Twenty years ago, back in 2006, the range for a similar-age couple was $374 a month on the low side, and $559 on the high side.2
The cost of groceries is a very real hot topic for both retirees and working families. Many feel pinched by the rising cost of pretty much everything else, but they still want to eat well.
What does a $1 increase per meal cost a retired couple?
Crazy-but-true math: Every $1-per-meal increase in food costs for a retired couple adds more than $2,000 to their annual cost of living.
(Assuming two people eat three meals per day: $1 × 2 people × 3 meals × 365 days = $2,190/year.)
Alert to future retirees: If you and a partner currently spend $1,000 a month on groceries and plan to retire in 20 years, at 3 percent inflation, you need to plan to fork over at least $1,800 a month at the supermarket.
This is time nibbling away at the value of your money.
These numbers are just for groceries used to prepare food at home. The per-meal allowance is soberingly small: about $3.50 on USDA’s low plan to just over $5 per person on the liberal plan. (I’m ignoring the thrifty plan, since its main purpose is to help food stamp calculations.)
But even if your grocery spending falls in the “liberal” category, it’s still way cheaper than eating out. Regular restaurant meals will increase your annual spending by several thousand dollars. According to Door Dash, access to a cheeseburger meal under $15 fading fast.3
How to keep food spending within your retirement budget: Strategy first, tactics second
Let’s talk strategy first, then tactics.
Perhaps we can agree on the financial and nutritional benefits of preparing your own food most of the time. That’s our long-term strategy.
Where different families and individuals will need to diverge is with the tactics. The tactics you choose should support the long-term goal of providing your family with food that is affordable and healthy.
There are many ways people approach an eating plan, some easier and some more elaborate:
- Meal kit delivery – still cheaper than takeout
- Shopping optimization – taking inventory, then filling in with what’s on sale
- Batch cooking/freezer meals
- Buying store-brand products
- Buying in bulk
- Eating less meat
- Using frozen or canned fruits and vegetables to reduce spoilage
- Investing in a large freezer
- Using a daily formula – for example, dinner = 1 protein + 2 sides
- Raising chickens and growing a garden
That’s 10 ways to plan your meals, and there isn’t a wrong way. I’ve tried all of the above except keeping chickens and meal delivery kits.
Pick one that fits your budget, as well as your season of life. Our family had to give up on batch cooking with our daughter, who doesn’t like her food items to touch. Also, I refuse to do meal delivery kits because, despite the higher price, you still have to cook them.
Right now, I’m in my food warehouse era, with an emphasis on price + ease:
- Is it reasonably priced?
- Is it as convenient as takeout?
For example, at a warehouse store I can stock up on a bunch of frozen egg bites, similar to what’s available at a popular coffee shop. If I microwave a couple of those, add in a piece of fresh fruit, and make a huge French press of coffee, breakfast is ready in less than 10 minutes for under $3.
$2.61 Breakfast = $2.11 egg bites + 25 cent French press coffee + 25 cent banana4
I didn’t have to cook anything, drive anywhere, wait in line, pay taxes, or tip anybody.
Here at the office, I always keep shelf-stable organic lentil packets and a freezer stash of healthy, microwavable meals so noontime hunger pains can be addressed conveniently.
It’s not about being cheap; it’s a plan to avoid wondering what I’m eating every day so I can focus on more interesting things.
If I don’t have a lunch appointment at a restaurant, I can make lunch in less than 3 minutes for about $3.
$2.88 lunch = $2.48 lentil package + 40 cent side of roasted vegetables
For those who’d like to make improvements in their grocery budget without true from-scratch cooking, I think the price + ease framework is a good filter for your decision.
The bottom line
Even a brief consideration of how you spend your food money can help both pre-retirees and those who are already retired. Most people have some sort of financial limitations; even those for whom money isn’t an issue usually don’t like waste.
If you lack a strategy, it’s worth pursuing one that fits with your season of life.
Keep an eye on costs—while acknowledging we probably won’t turn back the clock on prices--but also consider what’s important to you, whether it’s quality, nutrition, or convenience. With a solid plan, I think you can have affordable, healthy, convenient food without too much trouble.
What tactics do you use to keep the cost of eating under control, or is that something that isn’t important to you?
P.S.: A note for parents and grandparents
When your adult children and/or grandchildren tell you that life is expensive, believe them! The USDA’s “moderate” and “liberal” food budgets for a typical family of 4 run between $17,000 and $20,000 per year. The low-cost plan is over $1,000 a month, but it’s probably difficult for most families at this stage to economize that much, due to busy schedules.
Add to this the fact that the average annual health insurance premium for a family of 4 runs $14,000 to $24,000, and you can understand why under-65s might feel the pinch.
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NOTES
1) Allowances are made for different ages of children, women, and men, as well as households. Here is the 1-page summary: Cost of Food OFP July 2026
2) See archive at: https://www.fna.usda.gov/research/cnpp/usda-food-plans/cost-food-monthly-reports#1
3) Fox Business, "The $15 quick meal is disappearing except in these American cities," https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/15-quick-meal-disappearing-except-american-cities
4) If this doesn't sound like a lot of food for you, keep in mind this is at the low end of the cost spectrum.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.