WIC households incur no cost for WIC-approved foods, and economic theory suggests they may be less sensitive to prices when using WIC benefits than when paying out of pocket. ERS examines this assumption in a case study of WIC households' choices in purchasing cold cereals.
In FY2012, over three-fourths of WIC retail food benefits were redeemed at large (supercenter, supermarket, large grocery) stores. Although WIC may not encourage participants to be price sensitive, the many redemptions at large stores may be due to the 63-percent share of WIC vendors that are large stores and participants’ tendency to shop for WIC foods at the same stores where they shop anyway.
ERS has acquired commercial scanner data from market research firm IRI for use in food economics research. This report examines the methodology, characteristics, and statistical properties of the datasets. It provides an introduction to the data for new users and important considerations for advanced users.
The food dollar series measures annual expenditures by U.S. consumers on domestically produced food and is composed of three primary series—the marketing bill series, the industry group series, and the primary factor series—that shed light on different aspects of the food supply chain. Nominal (current year) and real data are now available from 1993 to 2014.
This report analyzes food import shipments that were refused entry into the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration from 2005 to 2013. It highlights which products are most often found in violation, identifies the most common types of violations, and discusses country-product patterns of note.
U.S. agriculture is growing more concentrated as markets have fewer purchases, low trading volume, and low liquidity, which raises concerns about equity for producers and efficiency in market performance.
Many consumers may perceive fruit and vegetable recommendations in USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans as too expensive. ERS illustrates how a family of four can meet these recommendations on a limited budget.
The February 2016 quarterly USDA forecasts for agricultural trade in the United States in FY 2016 are presented and discussed in this report.
Two decades after genetically engineered seeds became available, GE varieties are common in U.S. corn, soybean, cotton, canola, and sugarbeet production. Markets for food containing non-GE ingredients also exist. This report examines organic and conventional product markets, common coexistence practices, and the economic impacts when GE material is detected in non-GE products.
The ERS Food Expenditure Series annually measures total U.S. food expenditures, including purchases by consumers, governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
