March 16, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Spending on food in 2002

Food expenditures increased 1.0 percent in 2001, with spending on food away from home up 1.8 percent and spending on food at home rising just 0.4 percent.

[Chart data—TXT]

The increase in spending on food away from home in 2002 was less than the 4.6-percent rise a year earlier. The rise in spending on food at home was also smaller than the previous year’s increase.

The relatively small rise in food-at-home spending was the result of increases in spending for fruits and vegetables (5.7 percent) and other food at home (1.9 percent) being offset somewhat by decreases in spending for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (–3.6 percent), dairy products (–1.2 percent), and cereals and bakery products (–0.4 percent).

These data come from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Find out more in "Consumer Expenditures in 2002," (PDF 94 K), BLS Report 974.