Was the thrifty food plan used to develop or update the poverty thresholds?
No. The Agriculture Department s economy food plan the predecessor of the current thrifty food plan was used in developing the poverty thresholds in 1963-1964. (The economy food plan used to develop the thresholds is included in a 1962 Agriculture Department report.) The thrifty food plan was not established until 1975, when it replaced the economy food plan at the same general level of cost. The thrifty food plan has never been used to update or revise the poverty thresholds. Poverty thresholds are updated for price changes only using the Consumer Price Index.
