News

Americans' eating out habits drop to slowest pace since 1993

November 10, 2014

Americans are sourcing more meals from home than they have in years, reports The NPD Group. The market research firm just released its 29th annual Eating Patterns in America Report, which finds that a decline in restaurant usage and an increase in meals from home is one of the single biggest changes in eating patterns in Americans in the last five years.

The number of meals Americans bought at restaurants dropped significantly during the recession and isn’t recovering. According to a news release, Americans purchased 191 meals per person for the year ending August 2014, the slowest pace of eating out since 1993.

The latest numbers show that Americans now get eight out of 10 meals from home, but that does not mean that we are cooking more meals in our home, according to NPD’s report.

“We are eating more meals in our homes, but not cooking more dishes,” said Harry Balzer, VP of The NPD Group and author of the report. “You can see how Americans are making their lives easier, despite the economic limits, by looking at the foods and beverages that have become a part of more American diets.”

Balzer said the foods and beverages that have increased the most in the American diet throughout the past decade include:

Yogurt, a 12.5-percent change in Americans' consumption at least once every two weeks in 2014 vs. 2004;
Bottled water, 10.7 percent
Pizza, 9.6 percent
Poultry sandwiches, 9 percent
Mexican food, 8.3 percent
Fresh fruit, 7 percent
Bars, 6.7 percent
Frozen sandwiches, 6.2 percent
Chips, 6.1 percent
Pancakes, 5.8 percent

“We are still leaving the cooking to others. With restaurant visits down, the manufacturers of our foods are filling more of that need," Balzer said.