Share of food spending for eating out reaches 47 percent

The share of food dollars spent away from home climbed to an all-time high of 47% of food expenditures in 1998. Revisions based on the 1997 Economic Census by the Census Bureau also show that 1998 expenditures for eating out have grown at a faster pace than retail food expenditures. Food spending in the US rose 3.6% to $756.2 billion between 1997 and 1998, while total expenditures for eating out rose 4.6%, to $354.4 billion in 1998. Data are provided on food spending and personal food expenditures.