THE COST OF DECENT SUBSISTENCE IN PERSPECTIVE

The cost of decent subsistence (CDS), as defined over a decade ago, is the minimal food cost of a palatable and nutritious diet. It is here computed by quadratic programming and solved at a food budget level wh ere the marginal utility with respect to calories is zero. A review of 17 separate estimates of the CDS reveals that it is a remarkably cons istent and practical guideline for socioeconomic policies concerning f ood budget expenditures. By historically evaluating the CDS and compar ing the different application scenarios and procedures over time, inte resting questions are posed concerning the present allocation of funds in the food stamp program and other publicly supported mass feeding s ystems.