Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by Low-Income Americans: Would a Price Reduction Make a Difference?

Diansheng Dong () and Biing-Hwan Lin

No 55835, Economic Research Report from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

Abstract: Americans’ diets, particularly those of low-income households, fall short of Government recommendations in the quantity of fruits and vegetables consumed. Some proposals suggest that a price subsidy for those products would encourage low-income Americans to consume more of them. This study estimated that a 10-percent subsidy would encourage low-income Americans to increase their consumption of fruits by 2.1-5.2 percent and vegetables by 2.1-4.9 percent. The annual cost of such a subsidy for low-income Americans would be about $310 million for fruits and $270 million for vegetables. And most would still not meet Federal dietary recommendations.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics; Demand and Price Analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 17
Date: 2009-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-hea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uersrr:55835

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.55835

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