this post was submitted on 01 Mar 2024
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Between groceries and restaurants, Americans are spending more of their income on food than they have in 30 years.

That's according to the latest data from the USDA, which shows that U.S. consumers spent more than 11% of their disposable income on eating — whether at home or at a restaurant — in 2022, the highest percentage since 1991.

"This is really a metric that's about the share of our disposable personal income which the USDA tracks, and which recently was at essentially a 31-year high," Jesse Newman, food reporter for the Wall Street Journal, told CBS News.

Experts say painfully high food prices, and ongoing inflation more generally, help explain why many Americans are down on the economy despite low unemployment, rising wages and steady economic growth. Inflation is expected to continue slowing this year, with the National Association for Business Economists on Monday forecasting that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — a basket of common goods and services — will decline to an annual rate of 2.4% this year, compared with 4.1% in 2023 and 8% in 2022.

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[–] foggy@lemmy.world 50 points 1 year ago (7 children)

My coworker spent $17 on a whopper meal 5 days in a row.

Homie dropped $85 on whoppers this week. Like wtf

$50 would sound whack as fuck.

A nearby hotel currently has a $26 cheeseburger on their menu, and a few $12 drafts. 2 beers and a burger at $50 before tax and tip, looking at like $65.

[–] pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

For $85 here I could make steak for dinner every weeknight. But I was in the same trap as he was for a while.

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yeah Ive been there. But... That was when 2 mcdoubles and a 10 piece nug ran me like $5.

2 mcdoubles and a 10 piece nug today is $13 before tax.

[–] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I want you to understand that if he ever complains about money you have the internet's permission to slap the ever living fuck out of him.

[–] foggy@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He makes half of what I make (he's new/young). He has 3 kids. He has a galaxy s24 ultra. He has a PS5.

Me and fellow coworkers keep trying to get him into PC gaming. "I donno I can't drop that kinda money."

🤷‍♂️

I even gave him a $500 build list and told him I'd build it lol.

[–] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 year ago

And then the restaurant association goes on the news whining about "nobody wants to eat out any more".

[–] protist@mander.xyz 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Dude, $17 gets me a giant plate of local Mexican food and a Modelo. Who tf is spending that at Burger King

[–] HeyJoe@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yeah it's sad but it makes me happy I was always cheap af and never really enjoyed the "premium" stuff like big Mac or whoppers. With the phone app and its deals paired with the cheapest offering most of those places I can still spend like 5-7 bucks and get more than enough crap food for a meal. I am pretty bad myself, but I also have no idea how anyone can enjoy 5 straight days of any fast food. It's a once a week thing, maybe twice, depending on time and budget. Again I know it's bad!

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

This isn't anywhere near that expensive, but there's a local cafe my daughter likes me to take her to. A chai latte for me and a smoothie and a yogurt parfait for her (our usual) costs $20. And they're a lot cheaper than plenty of other places offering similar fare.

[–] Jaysyn@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

I bought chicken pad thai from an Asian cuisine place from the nearby (somehow not dying) mall Wednesday. It was $9.99 & almost a half-gallon of of some of the best pad thai I've ever had. So far it's been 3 meals & I still have enough for one more.

Fuck fast food, they've pretty much lost me forever after this open & obvious price gouging. Hope they all die in a fire.

[–] garretble@lemmy.world 47 points 1 year ago (1 children)

“Cereal Company CEO, why is a box of cereal now $6?”

“Well, you see, we wanted to stick it everyone. Cheerios don’t cost that much, but what are we gonna do, not screw everyone?”

[–] GrymEdm@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Haven't you heard? Cereal is now for dinner too according to Kellogg's CEO, and I guess that means it can be more expensive! But shhh, don't tell your nutritionist because they'll let you know that most modern cereal is actually more of a snack than something suitable for a main meal. You'd think access to affordable, nutritious food would be a pretty basic human right for countries to ensure, but instead we have things like cereal prices rising an average 28% since 2020 (12% in the last year alone).

[–] ExfilBravo@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

I buy that cheap shit in the huge ass bag. Fuck Kelloggs.

[–] snausagesinablanket@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not to leave out the boxes getting smaller.

[–] GrymEdm@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Hear hear. Shrinkflation is maddeningly annoying.

[–] NineMileTower@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] Boozilla@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

steps on scales

Dammit, NineMileTower is onto something.

[–] Boozilla@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (3 children)

A little curious how much is being spent on delivery services. Not trying to sound like boomer punching down. Like everyone else, I've noticed the significantly higher prices at grocery stores. But I've also noticed a lot of my coworkers use food delivery apps when our office is a very short drive to two groceries and a dozen restaurants. And we get an hour for lunch.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I don't see how allowing someone else to grab and deliver the same amount of groceries should have any baring what so ever on prices. It doesn't change demand, it changes the final delivery mechanism after the point of sale.

[–] hitmyspot@aussie.zone 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It doesn't change demand, but it does change pricing and shift demand to convenience.

If Moto's experience is the same as what I've seen, choosing delivery over purchasing in person doesn't just add a delivery charge, but also increases prices across the board, and then adds a service charge for delivery.

I suppose the argument for groceries is that an employee's time is spent collecting the goods before the delivery method. But in a fast food scenario where everything is made to order, regardless of dine-in, dine-out, drive-thru, or delivery, an increased price point across the board, before the delivery surcharge, is tough to accept. Though I understand that if restaurants aren't managing their own deliveries, they are often embedding third-party delivery app charges in their prices.

All of that to say, while I understand the arguments, I also know there's profit being made at each step, and they can only keep gouging for so long before the whole house of cards comes crumbling down.

[–] testfactor@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He's not saying it was pushing prices. He was saying it was potentially a big driver of the OP headline.

Yes, prices are going up, but a potential big factor in the increase of spending on food could be associated delivery costs.

They are likely considered part of "money spent on food" as calculated by the study, and have been a much more prevalent thing since the pandemic.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

No, that's literally my point. The peice at the grocery store is BEFORE delivery service charges. Delivery isn't food. It's delivery. Grocery prices have gone up by this amount at least around here. I'm saying greedlfation has been bad on food.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago

I've seen delivery drivers picking up orders at 7-11.

Boggles the mind that someone would pay essentially double for a hoagie.

[–] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

The main reason I use food ordering apps is because I don’t want to attempt to place an order over the phone with someone who talks too fast, mumbles, and apparently has never ordered food before because they don’t tell you how long it will take or how much it’s going to be and will get my order wrong with no paper trail.

[–] charles@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

February was the month we finally broke and said "absolutely no more schedule eating out". We were getting eaten alive (pun intended) in our budget by lunch costs that add up so much faster than they used to.

[–] shadowSprite@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm curious what the long term health affects of this are going to be as people are forced to eat less and less. Yes, it may help with obesity, but what about malnutrition? I'm overweight, but I've lost a fuck ton of weight in the last year from not being able to afford food and I'm at the point where it's not uncommon to go a day or 3 without eating. And it's only going to get worse for me. I just went to the grocery store today and bought food for the first time in a month and some sandwich fixings/bread, a pound of chicken, 2 tomatoes, a container of greens and two small bags of snacks cost over $50. Hopefully I can stretch that for a few weeks.

[–] poprocks@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

I'm so sorry for what you're going through. Check out local food banks - they typically don't ask questions and you can go to multiple food banks if you need to. Good luck to you.

[–] Jaysyn@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago

In case you don't understand who you should actually be mad about here, it's not fucking inflation when (the 6 remaining) food companies are making record profits, and have been for 3 years now.

[–] Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 1 year ago

I barely remember the H.W. Bush recession. I didn't remember this aspect of it.

[–] Crow@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

And here I am just stealing more food than ever.

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I really wish the media would stop spouting this tripe about lots of jobs, rising wages, and economic growth. None of those things are actually happening in ways that benefit average people.

[–] superduperenigma@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My raise this year: .

Inflation this year: ⚪

Thanks, boss. Appreciate it.

[–] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This is by design. Inflation is designed to make you work harder to justify a raise that barely keeps your standard of living intact.

More profits for your boss, same standard of living (or lower) for you....

Inflation is wildly out of control now, but even pre-pandemic, the central bank's 2% target inflation is designed to make you work harder for nothing in return

[–] PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee -1 points 1 year ago

Honestly, Americans could stand to eat a little less than they have been. Like yes, skipping dessert. Americans gained what, an average of 40 pounds during the pandemic? And those pounds never went away either. Personally, I went from 165 to 180. >:(