Average share of income spent on food remained relatively steady from 2000 to 2019

According to a report by the USDA’s Economic Research Service, between 1960 and 2000, the average share of Americans’ disposable personal income (DPI) spent on food fell from 17.0% to 9.9%. DPI is the amount of money that Americans have left to spend or save after paying taxes. For the past two decades, however, the share of DPI allocated to food has remained around 10%. From 1960 to 2000, Americans spent less of their incomes on food purchased from supermarkets, convenience stores, warehouse club stores, supercenters, and other retailers (food at home). The share of DPI spent on food at home fell from 13.7% in 1960 to 5.7% in 2000. Over the same period, the share of disposable income spent on food purchased from restaurants, fast-food places, schools, and other away-from-home eating places (food away from home) rose from 3.3% to 4.2%. Click here to read more…