Have you ever wondered how your grocery bill stacks up to other households/families’? Or, maybe this is something you’ve never even considered. Who knows what other people spend on food.

I fell into the latter category up until last week, when I discovered that the USDA actually compiles and publishes a Cost of Food at Home chart. I’d never really thought about other households, just thought we spent a lot on groceries and every week I try to do the best I can to stay within a certain range. (Since college, I’ve always been surprised by how much real food costs. Like, the price of a red pepper.)

The USDA chart estimates, based on current food prices, how much a woman, man, or child (by age) spend on food every week or month, and then also breaks that down into Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate, and Liberal plans categories. By looking up your family in the chart, you can get a sense of how much you’re spending compared to other similarly made up families. Do you spend liberally or are you fairly low-cost?

For our family of three (with a 3 yr old), our weekly food cost breaks out as so (for December 2015):

Thrifty: $105.10/ week

Low-Cost: $134.60/week

Moderate: $166.40/week

Liberal: $207.10/week

It’s pretty interesting to see it all laid out there, isn’t it? I was floored (floored) to find out we come in somewhere between the thrifty and low-cost. Pretty incredible given that we live in an expensive city, and I don’t think we skimp at all on food. I thought we ate pretty well – lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and I rarely use coupons.

This could be a useful tool if you’ve been feeling the need to cut back on a few things, or if you just wonder where your grocery bill falls compared to other similar households. For us, this has given me some comfort that all my grocery budgeting has paid off, but that I should also stop being anxious about it since we’re already spending quite a low amount.

How does your grocery bill compare?