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ERS maintains a program of research on food expenditures and food
demand by American households. Our goal is to look at the determinants
of food consumption and expenditures over time and by demographic
cross sections, the general population, and households eligible
for food assistance programs. Work in this particular area mainly
uses data from the Consumer
Expenditure Survey (CE) supplied by the U.S. Department of
Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and ERS's own food supply
and use data (see the Food Availability
(Per Capita) Data System), as well as other data sets.
These data show that average food spending per person increased about 2.4 percent during 1992-2002, from $2,191 to $2,245 (all years adjusted to 2002 dollars). During 1992-2002, however, spending on food eaten away from home increased as a share of total food spending. About 43 percent of the food dollar was spent on food away from home in 2002. ERS uses other data sources to measure consumption. See more information on the three types of food expenditures series in the Food CPI, Prices, and Expenditures briefing room.
About the Consumer Expenditure Survey
BLS has conducted the annual CE since 1980. This series provides
a rich source of information on the spending patterns of American
households. The CE is composed of two components, each with its
own questionnaire and sample. The first is an Interview panel survey
in which each of approximately 5,000 households is surveyed every
3 months over a 1-year period. The second is a Diary survey of approximately
the same sample size in which households keep an expenditure diary
for two consecutive 1-week periods. The Diary survey obtains data
on small, frequently purchased items that are normally difficult
to recall. These data include food and beverages, tobacco, housekeeping
supplies and nonprescription drugs, personal care products and services,
fuels, and utilities. Most ERS research on consumer expenditures
uses the Diary survey.
ERS conducts a wide range of research that addresses key issues
on all aspects of food consumption expenditures and the implications
of those expenditures. Traditional demand analysis looks at the
relationship between disappearance or expenditure data and prices
and income, as well as demographic variables. The researcher may
work with a complete demand system or single equations. Included
in this area is theoretically consistent research on the relationship
of farm-level prices to retail prices. Other work on food demand
looks at price changes over time and marketing margins and analyzes
expenditure data for persistent trends in consumption.
Household decisions on how to allocate resources between food spending
and other needs have widespread implications for well-being. Choices
made about which foods to eat affect the diet quality, and thereby
the health, of household members. ERS research focuses on long-term
diet and health and the consequences of food consumption and expenditures
decisions. The wide array of food assistance and nutrition programs
affect food spending decisions by low-income household by making
nutritious food more affordable, enabling these families to stretch
their food budgets.
The report, Low-Income Households’ Expenditures on Fruits and Vegetables, analyzes fruit and vegetable expenditures by low-income households and higher income households using the Consumer Expenditure Survey, and compares the sensitivity of both groups' purchases to changes in income.
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