How to Read the ERS Food Expenditure Series — Food at Home, Eating Out and Constant Dollars
USDA ERS Food Expenditure Series (US food sales incl. taxes and tips, $ million): August 2026 total 209,545.47, +2.9% y/y nominal, +0.05% in 2025 dollars; away-from-home 115,116.21 (+3.8%).
Key figures (ERS Food Expenditure Series, data through August 2026)
As of 14 November 2026, 00:12 KST (retrieved by this page at that time); latest listed on the agency page at retrieval: the monthly sales of food, with taxes and tips, for all purchasers, from the USDA Economic Research Service Food Expenditure Series, whose most recent row is August 2026 (the first data row of the file). The data product page shows Last Updated 10/19/2026 and Next Update 11/19/2026 for this file. Primary source: https://www.ers.usda.gov/media/5202/monthly-sales-of-food-with-taxes-and-tips-for-all-purchasers.csv?v=99258[1][3]
| Indicator (U.S. food sales including taxes and tips, all purchasers, millions of dollars per month) | Previous: July 2026 [1] | Current: August 2026 [1] | Change vs previous (this page's subtraction of the displayed values) | Change vs year ago (this page's calculation; August 2025 value in brackets) | Evidence type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food-at-home sales, nominal | 94,668.97 | 94,429.25 | -239.72 | +1,652.46, +1.8% [92,776.79] | USDA ERS Food Expenditure Series, monthly sales file [1] |
| Food-away-from-home sales, nominal | 113,980.67 | 115,116.21 | +1,135.54 | +4,215.45, +3.8% [110,900.76] | USDA ERS Food Expenditure Series, monthly sales file [1] |
| Total food sales, nominal | 208,649.64 | 209,545.47 | +895.83 | +5,867.92, +2.9% [203,677.55] | USDA ERS Food Expenditure Series, monthly sales file [1] |
| Total food sales, constant 2025 dollars | 202,188.98 | 202,809.94 | +620.96 | +92.94, +0.05% [202,717.0] | USDA ERS Food Expenditure Series, monthly sales file [1] |
Comparison basis: rows used are 2026 August, 2026 July and 2025 August of the monthly file, with its Food-at-home, Food-away-from-home and Total food sales columns (with taxes and tips, millions of nominal U.S. dollars) and its Total food sales column in constant 2025 dollars; annual shares use the 2024 and 2025 rows and the Total food-at-home and Total food-away-from-home expenditure columns of the annual file. Values are millions of dollars as printed to two decimals; in the August 2026 row food at home plus food away from home is 209,545.46 against a printed total of 209,545.47, a 0.01 gap consistent with rounding of the components (not established); changes subtract the displayed values and percentages are this page's calculation, rounded to one decimal (two for the constant-dollar change). Constant dollars are 2025 dollars (2025=100). The file does not say whether the monthly values are seasonally adjusted, so this page compares August with August; the July-to-August change is shown only as a difference.[1][2][3]
In three lines
1. U.S. food sales were $209.5 billion in August 2026, 2.9% more than in August 2025 in current dollars and 0.05% more in constant 2025 dollars.
2. Food away from home ($115.1 billion) grew 3.8% over the year, food at home ($94.4 billion) 1.8%.
3. In the annual series, food away from home was 56.3% of 2025 food spending (this page's calculation), against 55.9% in 2024.[1][2]
What the Food Expenditure Series measures
Spending on food, by who buys it and where. The series measures the value of food acquired in the United States by product, outlet and purchaser: sales including taxes and tips, plus food produced at home, donated, and furnished to employees and institutional populations. It splits food at home (FAH) from food away from home (FAFH), and alcohol at home from alcohol away from home.[3]
The monthly file is narrower. The data page says: "The monthly estimates capture sales only and exclude food furnished, donated, home produced, and served at educational institutions" (details are in its Documentation). Annual national data cover all of these components and are the benchmark for the monthly estimates.[3]
Constant dollars changed base. "Beginning with the June 2026 revision, constant-dollar estimates are rebased to 2025 dollars instead of 1988 dollars." Constant-dollar figures in this edition should not be compared directly with those published before June 2026 without adjusting for the base-year change and data revisions. The documentation says: "Inflation-adjusted, or constant-dollar, food expenditures are adjusted for price changes using the appropriate at-home or away-from home Consumer Price Index (CPI)." It also defines "Advance estimates: Published 1 year after the reference period." By that definition the 2025 annual values, published in June 2026, are advance estimates (this page's reading; the file does not label them).[3][4][5]
Regular revisions. "The Food Expenditure Series (FES) is revised regularly as new source data become available, source agencies revise historical estimates, and classification systems are updated." The June 2026 update brought in the Census Bureau's 2023 Annual Integrated Economic Survey; the revision history says: "Estimates beginning in 2021 were adjusted to align with the new survey benchmark." The data page adds: "For some NAICS industries, the transition to the new survey affected comparability between the 2021–22 and 2023 FES."[3][4]
Reading in pairs
Monthly sums against the annual totals. The twelve 2025 monthly food-at-home values add to $1,093,041.14 million; the annual food-at-home total ($1,096,787.88 million) minus home food production and donations ($3,746.69 million) is $1,093,041.19 million, a difference of $0.05 million. For food away from home the monthly sum is $1,260,804.23 million; the annual total ($1,414,967.00 million) minus food furnished and donated ($69,153.12 million) and food sales at schools and colleges ($85,009.59 million) is $1,260,804.29 million, a difference of $0.06 million. These are this page's calculations. The documentation says: "Benchmarking: Monthly totals in nominal dollars are adjusted so they sum to the annual estimates, except for the most current year."[1][2][5]
Nominal growth, flat real growth. Total food sales rose 2.9% from August 2025 to August 2026 in current dollars but 0.05% in constant 2025 dollars (this page's calculation). ERS's documentation says the constant-dollar series is adjusted with the appropriate at-home or away-from-home CPI; this page does not compare the result with a single price index.[1][5]
Two shares of away-from-home spending. In the August 2026 monthly file food away from home is 54.9% of total food sales; in the 2025 annual series it is 56.3% of food at home plus food away from home. The two use different coverage (the monthly file excludes furnished and school food), so they are not the same measure.[1][2]
Revised months. The monthly file is revised as source data change, and earlier versions of the file are not offered on the page, so this page does not say whether the July 2026 value shown here differs from the value first posted.[1][3]
Dates and next release
Dates kept apart. Monthly data: through August 2026; file Last Updated 10/19/2026. Annual data: 1997 to 2025; files Last Updated 6/1/2026. Data product page and revision history: Updated: 11/5/2026.[1][2][3][4]
Next release. The data page lists Next Update 11/19/2026 for the monthly file and says: "Monthly national data: released June through February, typically between the 17th and the 21st of each month." It also says: "Annual national and State data: released each June." These are scheduled dates as shown on the page.[3]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
ERS's Food Expenditure Series puts U.S. food sales including taxes and tips at $209,545.47 million in August 2026, against $203,677.55 million in August 2025.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Food-away-from-home sales were $115,116.21 million and food-at-home sales $94,429.25 million in August 2026 in the monthly series.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
The annual series gives 2025 food-at-home expenditures of $1,096,787.88 million and food-away-from-home expenditures of $1,414,967.0 million, including taxes and tips.[2] 1 source · authoritative record
From the June 2026 revision, ERS expresses constant-dollar food expenditures in 2025 dollars instead of 1988 dollars.[3] 1 source · authoritative record
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
The 2025 monthly sums come within $0.05 million (food at home) and $0.06 million (food away from home) of the annual totals once home food production and donations, and food furnished, donated and sold at schools and colleges, are removed.[1][2] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · this page's calculation from the monthly and annual ERS files
Food away from home was 56.3% of 2025 food-at-home plus food-away-from-home spending, up from 55.9% in 2024.[2] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · this page's calculation from the annual ERS file
Total food sales grew 2.9% from August 2025 to August 2026 in current dollars and 0.05% in constant 2025 dollars.[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · this page's calculation from the monthly ERS file
Timeline
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- Were the July 2026 or earlier monthly values revised in this release?
- Are the monthly values seasonally adjusted?
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 11/14/2026, 00:11
- Body characters
- 7,101
- Sources
- 5 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 11/14/2026, 00:29
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 11/14/2026, 09:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 11/14/2026 | First version. Read in full the ERS monthly and annual Food Expenditure Series files, the data product page and the update and revision history; quotations are complete sentences matched against the source text of the page named. | Updated |
| 11/14/2026 | Revised after review: rows and columns used are named and checked by script (the most recent row is 2026 August, the first data row); the 2025 reconciliation now prints the monthly sums, annual remainders and differences to two decimals ($0.05 and $0.06 million) instead of calling it exact; the August component sum (209,545.46) against the printed total (209,545.47) is noted; the documentation page is added and cited for the CPI deflation, the monthly benchmarking rule and the advance-estimate definition; the eating-out FAQ is narrowed to the monthly all-purchaser series; the price-adjusted FAQ states the constant-dollar change without comparing with a single index; the comparability sentence now says the series should not be compared directly without adjusting for the base-year change and revisions. | Updated |
Frequently asked
How much do Americans spend on food each month?
$209,545.47 million in August 2026, the latest published month at retrieval (file updated 10/19/2026), counting food sales with taxes and tips for all purchasers.[1]
In ERS's monthly food sales series (all purchasers), is food away from home larger than food at home in August 2026?
Yes: $115,116.21 million against $94,429.25 million in August 2026. Food away from home, the measure behind everyday talk of eating out, covers full-service and limited-service restaurants and all other establishments, and the series counts sales to all purchasers, not only households.[1][5]
How much did food sales change after adjusting for prices?
Constant-2025-dollar total food sales rose about 0.05% from August 2025 to August 2026 (this page's calculation), against 2.9% in current dollars; ERS deflates with the appropriate at-home or away-from-home CPI, per its documentation.[1][5]
Why don't the monthly figures add up to the annual total?
The 12 monthly values cover sales only; ERS excludes food furnished, donated, home produced and served at educational institutions, which the annual totals include. Removing those components brings the 2025 monthly sums to within $0.05 million (food at home) and $0.06 million (food away from home) of the annual totals, by this page's calculation.[1][2][3]
Can I compare these constant-dollar numbers with older reports?
Not directly: since the June 2026 revision constant dollars are in 2025 dollars instead of 1988 dollars, so they should not be compared without adjusting for the base-year change and data revisions.[3][4]
When is the next Food Expenditure Series update?
11/19/2026 for the monthly file, as listed on the data page; annual national and State data are released each June.[3]
Official links
- Official USDA ERS — Food Expenditure Series
Sources
- [1] Monthly sales of food, with taxes and tips, for all purchasers (ERS Food Expenditure Series, CSV) primary
- [2] Nominal food and alcohol expenditures, with taxes and tips, for all purchasers (ERS Food Expenditure Series, CSV) primary
- [3] Food Expenditure Series (USDA ERS data product page) primary
- [4] Food Expenditure Series - Update and Revision History (USDA ERS) primary
- [5] Food Expenditure Series - Documentation (USDA ERS) primary