March 9, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Spending on food differs by gender

Among single persons in 1992, women spent $24.93 per week on food at home, compared with $22.75 per week for men.  The share of spending on different items in 1992 and the change in food expenses from 1980 to 1992 varied by gender.

[Chart data—TXT]

In 1992, single women’s shares of expenditures on cereal and bakery products, and fruits and vegetables were higher than single men. For meat, poultry, fish, and eggs as well as dairy products, single men spent larger shares than single women. The share for other food at home was roughly the same for both genders.

Comparing changes in expenditure shares from 1980 to 1992 by gender, single women had significant changes in their share of expenditures for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs (decreased), cereal and bakery products (increased), and other food at home (increased), while single men had no significant changes in shares from 1980 to 1992 for any major food category.

These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey. Additional information is available from "The Changing Food-at-home Budget: 1980 and 1992 compared", Monthly Labor Review, December 1998.