AbstractThis paper presents a method to quantify social benefits of basic need policies by (a) relating their definition to the degree of fulfillment of accepted social standards, and (b) recasting the analysis of basic need projects within the general framework of shadow pricing in cost‐benefit analysis. An empirical application of this method shows that in poor countries, the attempt at upholding a standard of minimum food consumption for the poor would put substantial premiums on food production over and above world (or domestic supply) prices provided that the increased food supply results in sufficiently higher consumption for the undernourished.