The following was excerpted from an AFBF MarketIntel article. Header photo from the article.
by Daniel Munch, AFBF Economist
A lot happens between harvest and when a consumer sits down for breakfast. Changing tastes across generations continue to influence what, where and how people eat. At the same time, the push for convenience and speed is reshaping how farmers and ranchers get their products to processors, retailers and even delivery apps. Market-moving forces such as prolonged inflation and rapid growth in digital ordering have accelerated long-term shifts, often creating new and unexpected avenues for consumption.
From 1997 to 2024, U.S. spending on food at home rose from $363 billion to $1.091 trillion, while food away from home surged from $336 billion to $1.539 trillion. Inflation explains much of the increase, but consumer habits also shifted, with away-from-home spending overtaking food at home in 2002 and staying well ahead except during the Great Recession and briefly in 2020.
The pandemic caused the sharpest break in the trend: between 2019 and 2020, food at home spending rose 8% as food away from home fell 12%. Once restrictions eased, spending outside the home rebounded 25% in 2021 and 15% in 2022.
Food spending behavior also varies by state and region. Per capita food at home spending was highest in Alaska ($3,918), Idaho ($3,908), Montana ($3,873) and Maine ($3,773) and lowest in West Virginia ($2,568), Connecticut ($2,757) and New Jersey ($2,772). Much of this distribution reflects a mix of state-level food prices and cultural preferences around eating at home. In states like Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Maine, more rural lifestyles are likely to drive both higher prices and a greater reliance on home-prepared meals. On the other hand, states such as Connecticut and New Jersey rank near the bottom despite relatively high food prices, suggesting stronger preferences for dining out in densely populated, more urbanized areas.
How and where Americans purchase food continues to reshape every link in the supply chain, from transportation and packaging to storage, processing and preparation. The 2024 data underscore a clear pattern: convenience and time savings remain dominant forces in food consumption.
To read the full article, please visit this link: From Grocery Carts to Doorsteps: 2024 Food Spending