I recently started eating 3000calories a day to try and put on weight; this resulted in my grocery bill doubling. This made me wonder if I was spending too much on food. Obviously everyone needs to eat, but some people try to save money by skimping on food (ramen eaters of the world unite). Continuing on this thought, I wondered what others in our age group spent on food every year.

According to surveys done by the USDA,

In 2003, U.S. urban households with incomes in the lowest quintile (bottom 20 percent of the income distribution) spent $1,769 per person for total food, or 37.3 percent of total household income. Households in the highest quintile spent $2,737 per person for food, or 6.6 percent of total household income. Wealthier households, however, spent more of their food budgets on away-from-home food than other households.

Email me if I’m wrong, but I assume that most of us on this site fall somewhere in the middle or slightly above (otherwise I definitely want you to email me). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median income for our age demographic is somewhere around $45k/year (If anyone has more accurate figures please let me know). Assuming we spend about somewhere in between, that puts us around $2,200 for food, or about 5% of gross income.

For me, at $70 a week on groceries, and maybe $30 of eating out a week, that’s more than $5,200 a year! Obviously, I’m spending way more than average. However, considering that my grocery bill doubled, it seems reasonable to me. Keep an eye out for tips on trimming the food budget.

Food Spending in American Households, 2003-04 from USDA