Average Annual Food
Costs Down Yet Again

DECATUR, Ill. —(AP) — The next time you think your bill at the grocery store is high, think again.

As of early last week, the average American already had earned enough money to pay for food for the entire year, according to the Illinois Farm Bureau.

``Most Americans don't have any other experience of the cost of food elsewhere,'' said Randy D. Prince, executive vice president of the Macon County Farm Bureau. ``Food is cheap here compared to other countries.''

Americans spend an average of 11 percent of their disposable personal income on food, according to the latest statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.

Disposable income is defined as the portion of money available for spending or saving, and 11 percent of the year had passed as of Tuesday.

``Rather than being an economic burden, shopping for food is seen as enjoyable. That's the way it should be,'' said David Patton, special activities manager for the Illinois Farm Bureau.

The farm bureau designated last Tuesday ``Food Check-Out Day.''

The percentage of disposable personal income spent for food has been steadily declining over the past 25 years, Patton said. That's despite a trend toward Americans buying more expensive convenience foods for preparation at home and eating out more often, he said.

The Agriculture Departments' figures include food and nonalcoholic beverages consumed at home and away from home.

(By way of perspective, "tax freedom day," when the average American has worked long enough to pay his taxes, will be sometime in May this year. There is something peculiar and more than a little unsettling about a country whose citizens must pay four to five times as much for government as they do for the most important necessity of life. — Ed.)