The Purchase to Plate Suite (PP-Suite) is a set of data products developed by linking household and retail grocery scanner data with the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS), one of USDA’s nutrition databases. The National Average Prices allow users to import price estimates for foods found in USDA dietary survey data. Restricted access elements of the Purchase to Plate Suite include the Crosswalk, Price Tool, and Ingredient Tool.
The Purchase to Plate National Average Prices (PP-NAP) for WWEIA/NHANES provides unit price estimates for the foods participants reported eating in What We Eat in America (WWEIA), the dietary component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The estimates are derived using the Purchase to Plate Crosswalk, the Purchase to Plate Price Tool, and retail grocery scanner data. The primary purpose of the PP-NAP is to support the updates of the market baskets for the USDA Food Plans, including the Thrifty Food Plan. Each price series covers 2 years of data (e.g., 2015/16).
The public-use file includes the PP-NAP data from 2011/12, 2013/14, 2015/16, and 2017/18 and is based on Information Resources, Inc.’s (IRI) retail grocery scanner data, InfoScan. Prices for each 2-year period of PP-NAP are constructed using the PPC as follows:
- PP-NAP 2011/12: IRI InfoScan 2013 sales are linked to NHANES 2011/12 food codes
- PP-NAP 2013/14: IRI InfoScan 2015 sales are linked to NHANES 2013/14 food codes
- PP-NAP 2015/16: IRI InfoScan 2015/16 sales are linked to NHANES 2015/16 food codes
- PP-NAP 2017/18: IRI InfoScan 2017/18 sales are linked to NHANES 2017/18 food codes
Update frequency: The Purchase to Plate Suite will be updated every 2 years, subject to data availability. The 2019/20 data update is expected no earlier than fall 2025.
Disclaimer: The findings in this data product or stated on this page should not be attributed to IRI.
Recommended Citation: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Purchase to Plate Suite, March 2023.