Amber Waves

Among Rural U.S. Counties, Those With Recreation-Dependent Economies Had Most Options Per Capita for Dining Out in 2019

August 25, 2023 Anne Byrne, USDA ERS

Rural U.S. counties differ from urban counties in marked ways, but they also can be distinguished from one another. For example, rural counties have different leading industries, such as farming, mining, or recreation. The availability of restaurants and other food-away-from-home (FAFH) outlets varies across rural counties, and those that depend on natural amenities, tourism, and recreation generally had more options for dining out leading up to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. …

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Researchers Develop Method to Estimate Economic Impact of Foodborne Illness Outbreak Response

September 6, 2022 Sandra Hoffmann, Amber Waves

Despite extensive efforts to keep pathogens out of the U.S. food supply, outbreaks of foodborne disease still occur. They are stopped through public health investigations and timely response. State departments of public health maintain surveillance for these outbreaks and act in coordination with other States to assure vendors and manufacturers remove contaminated product from the market. Prompt actions minimize the number of illnesses caused by these events. The investigations used to identify and control outbreaks also provide the food industry with important information to improve their processes. …

Fluid Milk Consumption Continues Downward Trend, Proving Difficult to Reverse

June 29, 2022 Hayden Stewart and Fred Kuchler, USDA Amber Waves

The USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System shows that U.S. daily per capita consumption of fluid milk decreased over each of the past seven decades. Between 1990 and 2000, it fell from 0.78 cup to 0.69 cup (an 11.5-percent decline). By 2010, it was down to 0.62 cup (10.1 percent lower than it had been in 2000). Compared with each of the previous six decades, U.S. daily per person fluid milk consumption fell at its fastest rate in the 2010s. …

Food Taxes Linked With Spending Habits of Lower Income Households

December 23, 2021 Hayden Stewart and Diansheng Dong, USDA ERS

State and local governments typically levy a sales tax on purchases of clothes, computers, automobiles, and other products. Foods purchased at grocery stores, supercenters, and other retail venues are exempt from these sales taxes in 32 States and Washington, D.C. States and counties that tax food at home (FAH) are mostly in the Southeast and Midwest, such as Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and South Dakota. …

Rural Counties Losing Share of Grocery Stores, Gaining Other Types of Food Retailers

December 20, 2021 Alexander Stevens, USDA ERS

Rural U.S. consumers may face challenges finding access to retail food stores, especially if they live in regions with high poverty rates and decreasing population. To address the retail food store access issue, Federal policymakers have passed legislation such as the 2010 Healthy Food Financing Initiative. It was created to attract grocery stores to certain areas and give existing retailers incentives to sell healthy products in underserved communities. …