by paxys on 11/3/23, 5:24 PM
> Real total food spending increased 11.4 percent in 2021 and 3.4 percent in 2022, driven by higher FAFH spending (up 19 percent in 2021 and 8 percent in 2022). Real FAH spending increased by 4 percent in 2021 but decreased by 2 percent in 2022.
FAH = food at home
FAFH = food away from home
So, eating out is killing our wallets. Not really a surprise considering "dollar menu" items at McDonalds now cost $6 and a halfway decent lunch is upwards of $17-20.
It's too hard to change habits in the short term, but I fully expect that over time people are going to start cooking more and cutting back on restaurant visits and the industry is going to take a huge hit because of it. Prices are simply out of control. Even more so considering the default tip expectation has crept up from 10% to now 20-25%.
by soperj on 11/3/23, 4:58 PM
I think this has a lot to do with the under counting of inflation. If you go back to 80s methodology inflation has been much larger that what they've let on.
by cheriot on 11/3/23, 5:15 PM
Before the doomers run away with this thread, real spending on food prepared at home is down. This is more than off set by increased spending at restaurants. This returns to the pre-covid trends.
by kajumix on 11/3/23, 5:18 PM
I eat a lot of eggs and meat, and their prices are at least 50% higher than last year, not 6%. Inflation measures are such a joke.
by conjecTech on 11/3/23, 5:47 PM
I have been fascinated by the price of oats recently. The 8lb box of oats I have been buying from Amazon for several years suddenly went from $15 to $32 in July. Paying $4/lb for grain feels excessive given that meat is cheaper than that in most of the country. I went looking for an explanation expecting there to been some huge crop loss, but found oat future prices have been relatively stable at around $0.15/lb. I looked at other prices, and whole foods even charges $3.6/lb for their store brand and something like $2.5/lb for bulk goods. I distinctly remember buying the same bulk oats for $0.59/lb in 2017, right around the time Amazon bought whole foods. And oat futures prices are only up about 30% since then.
I think retailers would like us to believe these increases are just them passing through rising commodity prices from inflation, but I am increasingly convinced it is collusion, either implicit or explicit, to increase margins. The most compelling evidence this is happening seems to be Costco, which generally sets its prices at near-fixed 15% markup hasn't experienced nearly the same increases and is selling similar products at less than half of that price.
I think the entire thing is indicative of a growing disconnect between the cost of commodities and what consumers are paying due to increased consolidation and collusion among retailers.
by bugglebeetle on 11/3/23, 5:12 PM
Monopolization in the food industry (at just about every level) has set the stage for unchecked corporate profiteering. The real shortages during the pandemic created a pretext for ongoing gouging. Federal authorities used to intervene with various forms of price controls and limits on this kind of stuff, but now they simply wash their hands of the whole thing. This is of course all in the context of the US engaging in massive agricultural subsidies, the bulk of which go to said monopolies.
by hinkley on 11/3/23, 5:23 PM
"Ever before"? Those charts only go back to 1997, which is probably about when food was (inflation adjusted) at an all-time low price.
The United States is almost 250 years old. "Ever" and you only looked at 30 years is some first-rate hand-wringing bullshit.
What this article really says is that we are spending more money on food not prepared at home, and food not prepared at home is more expensive, duh.
by rpastuszak on 11/3/23, 5:07 PM
by bluedino on 11/3/23, 5:25 PM
Pizza night is $40 now (two pizzas and a breadstick-side), compared to $20
The bucket of chicken meal at KFC is $36
McDonald's combo meals are $11 instead of $6
Lattes seem to be $2 more
Still spending almost double a week on groceries than I was 2 years ago
by deathanatos on 11/3/23, 5:33 PM
I want per-capita numbers, otherwise these graphs are with "population goes up, food spending goes up". A real mystery.
The only real statement we get is,
> From 2019 to 2020, every State and Washington, DC, saw decreases in inflation-adjusted, per capita total food spending.
But the overall graph featured near the top of the article's slope is steep enough, I think, that the per-capita number hidden somewhere in there is also increasing across the duration. If I've done the napkin math right, roughly $2k/person/yr to $2.7k/person/yr.
But the big graph as presented confounds the problem we want to see the data on (stuff is getting more expensive) with population growth.
by MrRolleyes on 11/3/23, 5:09 PM
Interesting timing—Target claims consumers' discretionary spending is down, "both in dollars and units". I wonder if this points towards food prices climbing faster than inflation.
by carabiner on 11/3/23, 5:10 PM
Shhh, don't look at that. Just focus on
"U.S. GDP grew at a 4.9% annual pace in the third quarter, better than expected (cnbc.com)"
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38025177 and celebrate. Sure, 90% of Americans under 50 will never be able to buy a house. They are one injury away from bankruptcy. But the GDP!
by Dig1t on 11/3/23, 5:03 PM
Everyone knows they are spending way more on food. The CPI inflation numbers feel like a lie.
by infamouscow on 11/3/23, 5:36 PM
The effects of money printing on display.
by m3kw9 on 11/3/23, 5:10 PM
Because restaurants are doing literal highway robbery plus they need 20% tip on top