I live in Burlington (#2 on the list). Yes, we spend a lot on food but most of it is really high quality and from within 100 miles. The most convenient grocery in Burlington is City Market Co-op, which has the largest sales volume of any single-store food co-op in the country. That's probably skewing the data.
Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn claims the largest sales volume for a food co-op at over $50 million per year. It's impressive that Burlington's is in that same range, given the relative sizes of the populations served. The US needs a lot more of these.
I think it’s more expensive in Seattle because we have a lot of high quality food stores. Food in the us is too cheap, it should be more expensive everywhere
A bit outside Philly. Over the past several years, we've average $275-300 month per person for two adults. Another $100 month per person eating out. It's a bit tough to tell if they estimate buying a preselected set of food items? Do these costs reflect regional preferences at all?
>Do these costs reflect regional preferences at all?
Yes, they just used food spending data for the largest city in each state. No effort to standardize anything, as far as I can tell.
A bit outside Philly. Over the past several years, we've average $275-300 month per person for two adults. Another $100 month per person eating out. It's a bit tough to tell if they estimate buying a preselected set of food items? Do these costs reflect regional preferences at all?
My wife and I spent multiple thousands on food (groceries + restaurants) in May, and managed to bring that down by about half (though still well over a thousand) in June.
We live in semi-rural Arkansas, so not a HCOL area by any means.
How do you spend so little?! Why would you? I grew up outside of Philly, so I happen to know a bit about your area, and it's much more urban than where I live now.
A bit outside Philly. Over the past several years, we've average $275-300 month per person for two adults. Another $100 month per person eating out. It's a bit tough to tell if they estimate buying a preselected set of food items? Do these costs reflect regional preferences at all?
My wife and I spent multiple thousands on food (groceries + restaurants) in May, and managed to bring that down by about half (though still well over a thousand) in June. We live in semi-rural Arkansas, so not a HCOL area by any means. How do you spend so little?! Why would you? I grew up outside of Philly, so I happen to know a bit about your area, and it's much more urban than where I live now.
I live in Portland, Oregon, which has high COL and high food costs, and just checked my actuals (not estimates). Total spend for the last 2 months was $1263 for my wife and I. That’s $315.75 per month per person, and we buy a lot of organic food and produce. However due to Covid that was only including 1 restaurant meal both months, the rest was prepared at home. I think you are spending far too much on food, probably because of restaurants. Do you have something like Mint where you can see your spending by category and dig into this?
A bit outside Philly. Over the past several years, we've average $275-300 month per person for two adults. Another $100 month per person eating out. It's a bit tough to tell if they estimate buying a preselected set of food items? Do these costs reflect regional preferences at all?
My wife and I spent multiple thousands on food (groceries + restaurants) in May, and managed to bring that down by about half (though still well over a thousand) in June. We live in semi-rural Arkansas, so not a HCOL area by any means. How do you spend so little?! Why would you? I grew up outside of Philly, so I happen to know a bit about your area, and it's much more urban than where I live now.
We are budget conscious but this is what our spending naturally settles into just going to to the store and getting the ingredients we need for the meals and snacks we want. Meat several times a week, lots of fruit and vegetables, some pasta and wraps and breads. We don't feel deprived or unhealthy, and it fits well within our means.