🥦Vegetable & Fruit Servings Calculator

Calculate daily vegetable and fruit servings

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How to Use the Vegetable & Fruit Servings Calculator

The USDA's MyPlate guidelines recommend a daily amount of vegetables and fruit based on age and sex. This calculator takes your age and sex and returns the recommended daily intake in cups for each food group, so you have a quick reference for how much to aim for.

Most adults need about 2 to 3 cups of vegetables and 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit per day. Adult men are generally given a slightly higher target than women due to higher average calorie needs, while children and adults over 50 follow different reference amounts.

Rather than measuring cups at every meal, a practical approach is adding a vegetable side to most meals and keeping fruit on hand as a snack, then averaging out close to the target over a week. These numbers are a general nutrition guideline — check with a healthcare provider for guidance tailored to your own health needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do these vegetable and fruit recommendations come from?

This calculator is based on USDA MyPlate guidelines, which recommend about 2 to 3 cups of vegetables and 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit per day for most adults. Needs vary by age and sex.

What counts as one cup of vegetables or fruit?

One cup is roughly 2 cups of raw leafy greens, 1 cup of chopped vegetables, or a medium piece of fruit like an apple or banana. Portion sizes are approximate reference amounts.

What if I don't hit the recommended amount every day?

Missing the target on a given day isn't a problem by itself. This calculator is a general nutrition guideline meant to help you build habits that average out close to the recommendation over time.