Have you ever noticed that your food bill seems to climb higher and higher each year? Well, it’s not just your imagination. The latest figures reveal that food spending in the United States has reached a new peak in 2022.

Whether we factor in inflation or not, the evidence is undeniable. Yearly food expenditure has been steadily increasing since 1997, with a few exceptions during the economic downturn of 2008-2009 and the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. This encompasses both grocery spending for home consumption and dining out at restaurants or cafeterias.

In fact, overall food spending has skyrocketed by a staggering 70 percent from 1997 to 2022. A mind-boggling $1.81 trillion was disbursed on food in 2020 alone! When we delve deeper into the data, we see that dining out expenses have surged at a much faster rate than groceries. While the latter saw a 53 percent rise, the former shot up by 89 percent over the same period.

This trend has persisted over the past few years, with total spending on food increasing by 7.2 percent in 2021 and a further 4.5 percent in 2022. Unsurprisingly, this surge has mostly been fuelled by the rise in dining out expenses. Conversely, spending on groceries saw a modest 4 percent increase in 2021, only to decline by 2 percent in 2022.

So, what’s behind this upward trend in food spending? Are people simply frequenting restaurants more often, or have grocery prices climbed higher? There are numerous factors at play, including shifting consumer behaviours, economic fluctuations, and the impact of major events such as the pandemic.

It serves as a reminder that our spending patterns are continually changing, and it’s crucial to be mindful of where our money is going. The next time you order takeaway or wander through supermarket aisles, take a moment to ponder the broader landscape of food spending in the US. Who knows what we might uncover next?