Food Expenditures, Preservation and Home Production by Rural Families in the North Central Region, 1951-52

Excerpt from the report Summary: Farm families in the North Central Region consumed food worth an average of $1,358 in 1951, or more than$350 a person, as reported in a sample survey of rural households in these States in 1952. Included in the $1,358 is$608 worth of home-produced food valued at retail prices. Nearly all of these farm families had some home-produced food and only one-fifth produced less than 30 percent of their food on their own farms. On the average, home production supplied about half (45 percent) of the dollar value of food consumed during the year on farms in the North Central States. In addition to their home-produced food these farm families spent an average of $738 during the year to buy food, or$4 a week per person. Money spent for food accounted for one-quarter of their net money income (after taxes). The families with incomes below $2,000 spent more than half (54 percent) of their disposable incomes to buy food

Food Consumption and Dietary Levels of Rural Families in the North Central Region, 1952

Excerpts from the report Summary: The present report provides detailed information on quantities and money value of different foods consumed in a week in 1952, use of home-produced food, and other family food practices as well as data on dietary adequacy. Analyses have taken into account pertinent factors such as family income, household size, and age and education of the homemaker. In general, farm families had more food per person than nonfarm families, more than enough to make up for the greater food needs of farm households resulting from differences in degree of physical activity. One reason was the large amounts of home-produced food, particularly animal products, used by farm families. Most farm families in the North Central Region produced milk, meat, or eggs for their own use, and families producing these foods consumed more of them than those depending solely on purchases