The extent to which cost changes pass through a vertically organized production process depends on the value added by each producer in the chain as well as a number of other organizational and marketing factors at each stage of production. Using 36 years of monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics...

Although healthy foods can be affordable, if less healthy foods are cheaper, individuals may have an economic incentive to consume a less healthful diet. Using the Quarterly Food-at-Home Price Database, we explore whether a select set of healthy foods (whole grains, dark green vegetables, orange...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture administers food and nutrition assistance programs that promote fruit and vegetable consumption. But consumption remains relatively low among program recipients as well as among the general U.S. population. The perceived high cost of produce is often cited as a...

Nontraditional stores, including mass merchandisers, supercenters, club warehouse stores, and dollar stores, have increased their food offerings over the past 15 years and often promote themselves as lower priced alternatives to traditional supermarkets. How much lower are food prices at these...

This report examines the ways that fuel prices are transmitted to wholesale produce prices via transportation costs. Specifically, it focuses on marketing costs for asparagus,cantaloupes, table grapes, oranges, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Results of the study indicate that transportation costs...

The Quarterly Food-at-Home Price Database (QFAHPD) was developed to provide market-level food prices that can be used to study how prices affect food choices, intake, and health outcomes. This report presents a detailed description of the methodology used to construct the QFAHPD. The database,...

Food prices within States affect average monthly costs of State food benefits packages provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) more than variations in WIC caseload composition do. In addition, cost-containment practices by State WIC agencies...

Whether the poor pay more for food than other income groups is an important question in food price policy research. Stores serving low-income shoppers differ in important ways from stores that receive less of their revenues from Food Stamp redemptions. Stores with more revenues from Food Stamps...

Significant regional differences in food prices affect how far food stamp benefits can go toward enhancing the diet of low-income consumers in a given region. In regions where average food prices exceed the national average, food stamp benefits may not provide the same level of coverage as the...