USDA ISSUES REPORT ON
AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS FOOD SPENDING
Food spending is one measure of household well-being. To assess that measure,
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) periodically publishes information
on nationwide food expenditures, with data presented by selected demographic and
socioeconomic characteristics. A newly issued report continues the tradition.
Previous versions were issued in 1985, 1987, 1990, 1992, and 2001. USDA
tabulations are based on the most recent and comprehensive data available on
at-home and away-from-home food spending by U.S. urban households.
The new study, entitled Food Spending in American Households,
2003-2004, found the following:
- Between 2003 and 2004, per capita spending on food in U.S. urban areas rose
from $2,035 to $2,207. This change reflects increases of 7.9% in at-home food
expenditures and 9.3% in away-from-home food expenditures.
- Over the same period, per capita food expenditures as a share of total
income in urban areas dropped from 9.8% to 9.5%.
- In 2003, U.S. urban households with incomes in the lowest quintile (bottom
20% of the income distribution) spent $1,769 per person for total food, or 37.3%
of total household income. Households in the highest quintile spent $2,737 per
person for food, or 6.6% of total household income. Wealthier households,
however, spent more of their food budgets on away-from-home food than other
households.
- In 2003, urban female-headed households with children spent $1,610 per
person for total food, of which 66% was devoted to food at home. Married couples
without children spent $2,740 per person on total food, of which 60% was devoted
to food at home.
- In 2004, urban one-person households spent more than twice as much per
person on food as households of six or more persons. Smaller households also
spent a much larger share of their food budget on food consumed away from home
than larger households.
- As the age of the head of the household increased, so, too, did urban per
capita food expenditures in 2004. Once the head of the household reached age 64,
however, per capita food spending started to decline. Households headed by
persons age 55-64 spent the most per person on food consumed away from home.
- Among all U.S. regions, urban households in the Northeast spent the most on
total food per person in 2004, while urban households in the South spent the
least. These rankings hold for away-from-home food expenditures as well.
In the case of cheese, between 2003 and 2004 the study found that per capita
spending in U.S. urban areas rose from $39.24 to $46.85, representing a
remarkable 19.4% increase. The study also found the following with respect to
household spending on cheese:
- In 2003, U.S. urban households with incomes in the lowest quintile spent
$33.62 for cheese. Households in the second quintile spent $37.75, households in
the third quintile spent $40.92, and households in the fourth quintile spent
$41.97. Households in the fifth quintile (the top 20% of the income
distribution) spent $50.79 per capita on cheese.
- In 2004, U.S. urban households with incomes in the first (or lowest)
quintile spent $35.69 per person for cheese. Households in the fifth (or
highest) quintile spent $63.20 per person for cheese.
- In 2003, white households spent $43.34 per capita for cheese, almost double
the $22.07 spent by black households. In 2004, spending by white households
jumped to $52.31 per capita while spending by black households rose slightly to
$23.69 per person.
- Among all U.S. regions, urban households in the Northeast spent the most on
cheese in 2004 (i.e., $54.24 per person), while urban households in the South
spent the least (i.e., $43.05 per person).
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