This article was originally written by Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent, Rachel Ezzell, for our FCS Newsletter. Want to receive our monthly newsletter directly to your email inbox? Sign up to receive the newsletter in your email each month! If not, content can be found here within our Duplin County website.

When you purchase a food, what’s the driving factor behind that purchase? What’s the second most influential? Taste and price are dominant factors in this decision for most Americans. However, the order of other purchase drivers in America might have changed.

The International Food Information Council conducts a Food & Health Survey. For the first time in its 21-year history, convenience surpasses healthfulness as a top purchase driver. These driver are also associated with socioeconomic status; higher-income Americans place greater emphasis on taste and healthfulness and less on price and convenience. Working in nutrition and food, we try to acknowledge how these factors & priorities may differ for each family and impact our shopping decisions.

While I’ve probably shared this resource before, if you’re someone interested in the intersection of food and finance, I find the USDA Food Plans interesting to compare. The USDA releases updated amounts monthly on a Thrifty, Low, Moderate, and Liberal plan, “illustrating how a healthy diet can be achieved at various costs.” If that piques your interest, you can read more about the Food Plans. It’s a tool I recommended when mentoring college students to justify their cost of living expenses when applying for grants, but it’s also a good resource if you’re not quite sure what a reasonable budget would be for a week/month depending on your age/gender. My husband & I are pretty cost conscious, and our spending typically aligns with the low-cost plan monthly cost.