Americans Earned Food for the Year

The average American earns enough disposable income to pay for his or her food supply for the entire year in just 5 weeks. In comparison, Americans work 11 weeks to pay for federal taxes, 9 weeks to pay for housing and household operation, and 7 weeks for health and medical care, according to the Tax Foundation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that American families and individuals currently spend only 9.9 percent of their disposable personal income for food. In 1929, this figure was 23.4 percent. Food is more affordable today due to a widening gap between growth in per-capita incomes and the amount of money spent for food. This overall decrease is made more notable by the fact that trends indicate Americans are buying more expensive convenience food items for preparation at home, as well as more food away from home.

“As we celebrate National Food Check-Out Week the first week of Feburary, it really highlights how affordable food is for Americans”, stated Charles Schaefer, II, President of the Maryland Grain Producers Association headquartered in Annapolis. “As farmers, we strive to produce the safest, healthiest food supply possible at a cost that remains the most affordable in the world. This is truly amazing when you also account for the significant increases we have seen in fuel and transportation that greatly impact the cost of production.”

International figures show that Japan will spend 14 percent of their disposable income of food this year, with other examples of Israel at 20 percent, China at 26 percent, Philippines at 38 percent, and Indonesia commanding over half of their disposal income at 55 percent.