Food Insecurity Still Stinging Consumers
Humanitarian and peace activist Heidi Kuhn was named the 2023 World Food Prize Laureate last week.
Kunh founded Roots of Peace, an organization aimed at restoring agriculture in former conflict zones.
The World Food Prize was established to recognize achievement in improving the quality, quantity and availability of the world’s food supply.
Food insecurity is still an issue globally and here in the United States.
An agriculture economist cited elevated inflation levels still present challenges for the cost of visiting the grocery store.
David Miller reports.
Transcript
Consumers are feeling the pinch of rising food prices, but a new study shows relief is already on the way.
Purdue University's Consumer Food Insights survey for April found that total household food spending is up compared to 2022, but the rate of increase has slowed in recent months.
Jayson Lusk, Purdue University: “So total food spending is about 7 percent higher now than was the case last year. And that's probably a reflection of the higher food prices that we've seen over the course of the last year. Indeed, our consumers say they're paying higher prices than they were last year, but that rate of increase has been falling over the past several months. So even though consumers say they're paying more, they're not paying quite as much as as they were in previous months.”
The study shows the average American household spent $184 per week on food, with two thirds of the spending on meals cooked at home.
The nonpartisan watchdog group Accountable.us reported this week food giants Mondalez, General Mills and Kraft Heintz had a combined 51 percent increase in net earnings year-over-year in the first quarter of 2023.
The number of households reporting they were food insecure stands at 14 percent, a similar number to answers given from before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Purdue survey also found 20 percent of households, or one-in-five, visited a food pantry in the last 30 days.
Jayson Lusk, Purdue University: “At the same time, we see that food insecure households have lower trust in our federal food regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA, than our food secure households. So we see that food insecurity affects not just whether you have enough money to afford the kind of food you want to eat. But it also affects a whole set of beliefs and experiences around the food system.”
For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.