How to calculate additional meal expenses after a loss

Food is one of the most contested ALE categories because the post-loss spending pattern looks so different from normal. A household that loses kitchen access shifts from groceries to restaurants, delivery, prepared foods, and convenience purchases. The additional meal expense is the increase over what the household normally spent on food — but how you define normal changes the result.

Establish two baselines, not one: normal groceries and normal meals out. A household without a kitchen still would have spent something on food normally. The cleanest presentation shows total normal food spend, total post-loss food spend, and the documented increase — rather than claiming every restaurant receipt at face value.

Kitchen availability is rarely all-or-nothing. A temporary residence may have a partial kitchen, a microwave only, or no cooking facilities at all. Note the level of access for each period — partial access usually reduces the reasonable restaurant spend, and documenting it up front strengthens the rest of the claim.

Alcohol and other non-covered items frequently appear on restaurant receipts. Excluding them with a documented reason — rather than leaving them for the carrier to find — signals rigor and makes the remaining amounts more credible.