What we pay-Food for Thought

We’ve been reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  It’s the book that inspired Farmhand 4’s name.  Set in the late 1860’s, Almanzo Wilder is growing up on a big farm in New York state.  The whole life of his family  revolves around producing food for themselves and their livestock, with the excess sold to the city.

It has me thinking about how much shift there has been in how we produce food and in our overall input into it.
Humans and the animals we have domesticated are the only species on Earth that do not allocate nearly all of their resources to what and how we eat.  And we have reached a time when we are putting the least effort and resources into nourishing our bodies.  
We hear it all over the news now that grocery prices are up and families are having to spend more on food.  I wanted to see how we spend our money on food has changed over the decades:  

What Americans spend on food (then vs now)

Rough averages (inflation-adjusted, national level):

• 1900–1910: ~40–45% of household income
• 1930s (Great Depression): 30–35%
• 1950s: ~30%
• 1960s: ~20–22%
• 1990s: ~12–13%
• 2024: ~10.4%
  • 4.9% at home
  • 5.5% away from home

According to the USDA, Americans now spend less of their income on food than any people in history, anywhere, ever.  And starting in the mid 90’s, we began spending about 1/2 of our food $$ away from home, and in the last couple of years, that shift has occurred, with more than half spent eating out.

Meaning those dollars are paying for much more than food.  They are paying for the building's rent, service staff, marketing, and convenience.  And I get it we are also more scheduled than we’ve ever been.  My cousin and I were talking recently, wondering how our Grandma managed with 8 kids at home.  I realized she and the kids were home more than I think we can imagine now.  All the kids took the bus to and from school. 

I don’t remember many storeies form my mom or her siblings about sports or activities except for 4-H.  The only time everyone left the house together was for church on Sunday.  Nearly all the meals were cooked and eaten at home.  Now it feels harder than ever to cook at home, much less produce any of that food.Food didn’t just start costing less to produce.  Rather, we shifted how we grow food AND who covers the costs before we see the price tag at the store.  

1. Industrialization of agriculture

• Fossil fuels replaced human and animal labor
• Synthetic fertilizers replaced soil biology
• Monocropping replaced diversity
• Scale replaced resilience

Food got cheaper at the checkout because costs moved elsewhere: the environment, health, farmers, and the national economy.

2. Government policy + subsidies

• Commodity crops (corn, soy, wheat) are subsidized
• Cheap inputs = cheap processed food
• Calories prioritized over nutrition

This is where “food as fuel” replaced “food as nutrition.”

3. Labor shifts

• In 1900, ~40% of Americans worked in agriculture
• Today, <2% do

When fewer people grow food, more people forget what it actually takes to grow food.

4. Convenience economy

• Refrigeration, Freezers, Ultra-processed foods, Microwaves, and Drive-thrus

Time was exchanged for money. And eventually, health.

Eating out vs cooking at home: a quiet but massive shift

Early 1900s

• Almost all food was cooked at home
• Restaurants were rare and mostly for travelers or the wealthy

1950s–1970s

• Eating out = special occasion
• Fast food began, but was still limited

1990s–today

• Half of food dollars go to food away from home

The irony:
People complain food is expensive—but much of the “cost” now isn’t food at all.

What about growing your own food?

Historically

• Gardens weren’t hobbies—they were survival
• Victory Gardens (WWI & WWII) produced up to 40% of U.S. vegetables
• Families didn’t calculate ROI; food security was the ROI

Today

• Gardening is seen as:
  • A lifestyle choice
  • A luxury
  • A hobby

But:

• A small garden can supply hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of food annually.  In our California garden (600 sq ft), we were growing 800-1000 pounds of produce a year.  I do miss that growing climate for veggies, and I know it’s a lot harder here in the Colorado Mountains.
• It costs more in time—but far less in cash

Which reveals the truth:

We didn’t stop growing food because it wasn’t worth it.
We stopped because industrial food made it unnecessary—for now.

The truth about food costs

Humans (in most parts of the world) are the only species that don’t spend most of their energy and resources acquiring food.And we’re one of the only generations in human history that:

• Doesn’t grow it
• Doesn’t hunt it
• Doesn’t preserve it
• Doesn’t know the people who produce it  (You are an exception to the norm here.) 

Yet it’s expected to be:

• Cheap
• Abundant
• Perfect
• Always available

This expectation is why so many perceive food to be expensive today.

I am proud to be part of a community that is looking at food in a different way than the mainstream is right now.  Thank you for being here with us and working to shift the food economy back to a local market, supporting and knowing your farmers.  I hope, together, we can shift the view on where and how food is produced, as well as on the true costs, and bring the joy of cooking back to our kitchens.

That’s today's food for thought,

Aila