Wednesday was a day many Iowans were digging out from under new snowfall, but it also marked a milestone for your pocketbook according to the Iowa Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau senior research analyst, Sterling Liddell, says it was national "Food Check Out Day." He says it marks the date where the average American will have earned enough money to pay their food bill for the entire year.
Liddell says they figure the cost of food and take an average wage each year and find the check out day. Liddell says the day has stayed pretty constant over the past several years, as he says food prices have stayed pretty constant over the last 10 years. Liddell says farmers actually get the smallest part of our food dollars. He says statistics show that of each dollar spent on food, 38 cents goes toward labor, 24 cents is spent for packaging and about 19 cents is paid to the farmer for input costs.
Liddell says changes in eating habits have impacted the cost of food, as Americans now eat about 40-percent of their meals outside the home. Liddell says each time you eat food outside your home, you add another layer of costs, which is another factor for the increasing cost of food. The Farm Bureau says while Americans must work 37 days to pay their annual food costs, consumers have to work 52 days a year to pay for health care, 62 days a year to pay for housing costs and 77 days a year to pay for their federal income taxes.