What we eat

Dietary survey data suggests that each consumer eats 794 pounds of food, or 2.18 lbs of food per day. Nearly 39% of this total is estimated to be fruits and vegetables.

Source: Derived from Western Region, Central City data from USDA/Agriculture Research Service Food Commodity Intake Database, March 2004.

Per Capita Consumption / Estimates by Food Group, in Pounds

Loss-Adjusted Food Availability Data

FCID (Dietary Surveys)

Food Group

Primary Weight (lbs)

Consumer Weight (lbs)

Dietary Survey Weight (lbs)

Fruits

266

175

202

Vegetables

350

238

106

Protein

546

416

87

Milk

284

252

248

Grains

161

142

74

Nuts, Oils, Herbs

95

75

26

Sugars

141

125

52

Total

1,842

1,423

794

Source: Derived from Loss-Adjusted Food Availability, USDA/Economic Research Service; Revised Food Commodity Intake Database, USDA/Agriculture Research Service.

East Palo Alto

According to per capita consumption data, East Palo Alto residents need .84 lbs of fruits and vegetables per day.

The food budget of the East Palo Alto population is estimated to be $65 million per year.

Estimating 32,000 Residents in East Palo Alto: Fruits and vegetables combined = 308 lbs. Multiplying this by 32,000 = 9,856,000 lbs. of fruits and vegetables needed per year.

The USDA states that consumers can fulfill their daily needs for fruits and vegetables for .64 cents. Source: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FruitVegetableCosts/

For East Palo Alto, this equals $20,480 per day, or $7,475,200 per year, or 11.5% of the total estimated to be spent on food.

According to survey data collected in East Palo Alto, more than 63% of the shoppers at the East Palo Alto Community Farmers' Market spend more than $10 per visit to the market.

Easier and cheaper to subsist on junk food?

The data show that it's easier for low-income people to sustain themselves on junk food rather than fruits and vegetables: a 2,000-calorie diet would cost just $3.52 a day if it consisted of junk food, compared with $36.32 a day for a diet of low-energy dense foods. However, most people eat a mix of foods. The average American spends about $7 a day on food, although low-income people spend about $4.
Source: http://www.collectiveroots.org/healthy_eating_costs_more.