USDA to Survey Grocery Costs in Alaska and Territories
Published Date: 4/9/2026
Notice
Summary
The USDA wants to collect new food price data from Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and Guam to better understand the cost of healthy eating there. This info will help improve nutrition programs and policies, like the Thrifty Food Plan. They’re asking for public comments by June 8, 2026, to make sure this study is useful and accurate—no extra costs for most folks, just a chance to share your thoughts!
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
USDA study of local food prices
The USDA will collect food price data in seven non-contiguous States and U.S. Territories — Alaska, American Samoa, CNMI, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands — to estimate prices for the Thrifty Food Plan market basket. The study's purpose is to fill gaps in existing price data so the Thrifty Food Plan and related federal nutrition policies can be adjusted to reflect local prices.
Retailers and agencies asked to participate
The study will contact staff from State and local agencies, 732 business for-profit organizations, and 21 not-for-profits; an estimated 1,299 respondents will participate. The USDA estimates 4,096 total annual responses, an average of 0.44 hours per response, and a total annual respondent burden of 2,056.2 hours for the study.
Some participants receive honoraria
The notice says 122 participating organizations will complete paperwork required to receive an honorarium for participation in the study. Participation activities include recruitment emails, planning calls, in-store surveys, and providing scanner or web-scraped data.
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Key Dates
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