FRAC: Spending on Food by Tens of Millions of Americans Drops to Unhealthy Level

From the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC):

"A new analysis of federal data by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) finds that more and more Americans have been losing the struggle to afford an adequate and healthy diet. Food spending by the average household fell dramatically over the past decade, with particularly dramatic drops in 2000-2002 and 2006-2010.

FRAC analyzed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) annual reports that compare the amount of households’ median spending on food to the amount of the Thrifty Food Plan – the level the government defines as needed for a bare bones diet on an emergency basis, albeit a level that many experts consider to be inadequate for most families to obtain a healthy diet. The FRAC analysis found that:

• Spending on food by the median household fell from 1.36 times the Thrifty Food Plan level in 2000 to 1.19 times that level in 2010.
  

• By 2010 median spending on food by Black households and Hispanic households had fallen to the point where it was only a tiny bit above (101 percent for Black households) or was actually below (96 percent for Hispanic households) the bare bones Thrifty level.
  

• Spending by households with incomes less than 185 percent of the poverty level fell from 106 percent of the thrifty level in 2000 to 95 percent in 2010.

This dramatically reduced spending on food would not be so problematic if households were still spending amounts adequate to obtain a healthy diet. FRAC’s analysis shows that they are not: indeed, the median spending of all households has fallen below the amount of the government’s Low-Cost Food Plan, which is a much more realistic measure of spending to support health and well-being."

Read the FRAC press release here.

Access the full report online.