The effect of COVID-19 on food sales.

Both COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions and recessionary employment loss severely impacted US food sales during 2020. This article estimates the historical relationship between food expenditures and employment at the county level. Using these estimates, we simulate the impact of the loss of employment on food sales and find that, on average, employment loss increased food-at-home (FAH) sales by 1.3% and decreased food-away-from-home (FAFH) sales by 0.5% in 2020. We argue differences to the actual 4.8% increase in FAH sales and 19.5% decrease in FAFH sales in 2020 likely stem from the more drastic COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions and behavioral changes.

Consumer demand for food at home and food away from home: Understanding economic linkages during the pandemic

Household food expenditure has shifted away from Food at Home (FAH) and towards Food Away from Home (FAFH). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, FAFH's share of food expenditure surpassed that of FAH, reaching 55% in 2019. Yet economic research on FAFH and the interaction of FAFH and FAH has been limited. Combining scanner data for meat sales in grocery stores with data for FAFH expenditure, we estimate a model of demand for at-home meat, incorporating FAFH expenditure as a demand shifter. We quantify substitution between FAFH expenditure and FAH meat and quantify the impact of the COVID-19 disruptions to the food service sector on retail prices of FAH meat. © 2023 The Authors. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Agricultural & Applied Economics Association.

Using Household Expenditure Surveys for Comparable and Replicable Nutritional Analysis: Evidence from México.

In this study, we explore how to use household expenditures and income surveys (HEIS) to provide replicable and comparable measures of nutrients availability at the population level. Our method formalizes the common practice in the literature and consists of three steps: identification of relevant food categories, pairing of food contents food groups in HEIS data, and calculation of the typical amount of nutrients by food group. We illustrate the usage of the method with Mexican data and provide a publicly available data set to readily convert food purchases into six nutrients: calories, proteins, vitamins A and C, iron, and zinc. We perform a descriptive analysis of the evolution of nutrients intake among Mexican households between 2008 and 2020, considering differences by income level. Our results reflect the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on nutrient availability in Mexican households, mainly driven by a substantial reduction in the expenditure in food consumed away from home, although for most nutrients the trend was stable over most of the period.

Restaurant dining during the COVID-19 pandemic among adults with low-income in the United States.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread non-essential business closures in the U.S., which may have disproportionately impacted food consumption in lower-income communities, in part due to reduced access to healthy and affordable foods, as well as occupations that may have required working outside the home. The aims of this study were to examine restaurant dining behaviors (including drive-through, takeout, and delivery) at fast-food and non-fast-food (i.e., fast casual and full-service ['other']) restaurants and the impact on diet quality among racially/ethnically diverse low-income adults during the early months of the pandemic. Participants completed an online survey using CloudResearch regarding restaurant dining behaviors in the past week (during June 2020) and during a typical week prior to the pandemic. Diet quality was measured using the Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS). Surveys from 1,756 low-income adults (incomes <250% of the Federal Poverty Level) were analyzed using chi-squared tests to examine differences in demographic characteristics among those dining at restaurants during the pandemic, as well as to examine differences in dining frequency compared with prior to COVID-19. Negative binomial regressions were used to examine the mean frequency of eating food from fast-food and other restaurants, adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics. This study found reductions in fast-food and other restaurant dining compared with prior to COVID-19, although overall restaurant consumption remained high with over half of participants reporting fast-food consumption in the week prior (average consumption of twice per week). Greater fast-food consumption was associated with poorer diet quality. In conclusion, while fast-food consumption was slightly lower during the pandemic, the overall high levels observed among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults remains concerning, highlighting the continued need for initiatives and policies to encourage greater access to and consumption of affordable and healthier foods.

Post-Lockdown Eating-Out: Apprehensions and Expectations

The Indian restaurant industry is one of the largest service sectors employing 7.3 million people in 2018-19. COVID-19 pandemic has brought industry at a brink of an existential crisis giving rise to a host of unforeseen challenges and roadblocks. COVID pandemic, indicate changes in the eating-out patterns with transformed customer’s expectation. All the discussions on the revival of hospitality and tourism post-lockdown are from the supply side. However, there have been few studies that look at the situation from the demand sides. This research analysed millennial customers’ sentiments towards re-patronising food outlets post-lockdown using a mixed-method approach. The research concludes that only 18.5% of millennials are willing to re-patronise eating at restaurants post lockdown. However, there is a large segment with 51.05% open to home delivery of food and 54.90 % open to take away food. The study has highlighted a significant difference in dining behaviour between generation X and generation Y. It has identified three major demographic segments based on willingness to eat out specifically in the context of the prevailing pandemic. These are daring diner millennials, cautious diner millennials and fearful diner millennials. The Need-risk grid explaining the quadrant shift of eating out activity is a crucial contribution of the study. © 2021 Publishing India Group. All rights reserved.