Eating habits and the economy
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The US economy has had it’s share of challenges this year and the problems remain as we step into the second half of 2008. Rising food prices, gas prices at record highs, lack of credit availability in the economy, a housing market slump and continuing mounting expenses in the war on Iraq ( approx. $540 billion estimated by the National Priorities Project as of 07/28/08). All of these have resulted in a sluggish US economy. So How is it affecting eating habits?
According to a research released today from the NPD group, more people are brown-bagging lunch. NPD reports weekday lunches carried from home reached a new high point in 2007, with adults, 18 and older, carrying some 8.5 billion brown bag lunches last year. More than half of these lunches are consumed at the workplace, and most often at the eater’s desk or workstation.
“Consumers are definitely in a cost-cutting mode, and brown-bagging saves them money,” says Harry Balzer, vice president, The NPD Group, and author of Eating Patterns in America. “Making lunch at home and putting it in a bag also enables them to have full control over what goes into the bag as many are concerned about eating better.”
The majority of consumers said they carry their lunch from home more often due to financial reasons mostly because it’s cheaper than other options. Health and nutrition concerns ranked second as a reason to brown bag, followed by convenience, taste, diet, quality, and environmental concerns.
So, what are people brown bagging for lunch? Turns out Fruit, chips and sandwiches top carried-from-home lunches.
However, American’s may not be cutting down on Restaurants. According to the National Restaurant Association industry Forecast For 2008 it will be business as usual for restaurants. The NRA predicts another year of growth for the restaurant industry, with sales estimated to reach as high as $558 billion dollars. That is a 4.4% increase over 2007 sales. According to NRA forecasts, despite an increase in wholesale food prices (2007 saw the highest increase in 27 years) and rising gas and oil prices, the restaurant industry as a whole will continue to grow.
