Food prices have continued to account for a larger amount of consumer spending, according to data released from USDA’s Economic Research Service on June 1, with spending across all sources coming in at $2.51 trillion.
Total expenditures on food-at-home purchases (food from grocery stores and other outlets intended for home preparation) hit $1.096 trillion, up from the previous record of $1.066 trillion dollars in 2024. All categories in the group, except for spending at convenience stores, saw an increase from last year. Grocery stores saw the largest uptick, spending $19.41 billion over last year’s mark.
Spending on away-from-home food (restaurants, recreational establishments, etc.) saw sharp increases as well despite concerns over the health of the consumer in recent months. The category hit a record high $1.414 trillion, and continues to outpace growth in consumer spending on food-at-home in both raw values and as a percentage. Over half of the growth in sales came from food sales at full service restaurants, which accounted for $35.75 billion of the $64.77 billion increase year-over-year.
The continuing widening of spending between at-home and away-from-home purchases shows how increased labor and input costs have caused businesses to raise prices, but also reveals the strength of longer term consumer preferences towards eating less food prepared in the home.
More data visualizations and state-level spending breakdowns are provided by USDA-ERS here.