  The least-cost diet problem introduces students to optimization and linear
programming, using the health consequences of food choice. We provide a
graphical example, Excel workbook and Word template using actual data on item
prices, food composition and nutrient requirements for a brief exercise in
which students guess at and then solve for nutrient adequacy at lowest cost,
before comparing modeled diets to actual consumption which has varying degrees
of nutrient adequacy. The graphical example is a 'three sisters' diet of corn,
beans and squash, and the full multidimensional model is compared to current
food consumption in Ethiopia. This updated Stigler diet shows how cost
minimization relates to utility maximization, and links to ongoing research and
policy debates about the affordability of healthy diets worldwide.
