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Abstract
Food expenditures in the United States have risen almost every year since the end of the Great Depression. However, income has risen faster (chiefly because of the increasing number of families with more than one wage earner), so food spending as a percentage of income has declined. Higher income households spend more money on food, but use a smaller share of income, than lower income households. Measures of food expenditures and income vary according to how income is measured, what expenses are counted, and who is paying for the food.