U.S. Household Food Spending Post COVID-19 and the Implications for Diet Quality

This report analyzes recent trends in household food spending across socioeconomic groups amid a combination of uncommon and economically impactful events. These include the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, supply chain disruptions, historically high food price inflation, and the pandemic stimulus. Estimates from a two-part spending model on 15 food categories based on the 2016–22 Consumer Expenditure Diary Survey show a partial return to prepandemic (2016–19) spending levels in 2022, but this was uneven across food categories and socioeconomic groups. As spending at restaurants in 2022 continued to be below 2016–19 levels, spending at supermarkets and other stores remained higher, especially on fruits and vegetables, prepared meals and salads, desserts, and savory snacks and sweeteners. These food spending patterns were similar across sociodemographic groups in 2022, with the exception of households enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). With record inflation in 2022 reducing household purchasing power, non-SNAP low-income households reduced food spending at supermarkets and other stores relative to SNAP households, indicating the program's role in mitigating income constraints.