For good health, USDA urges American consumers to eat

more fruits and vegetables—5 to 9 servings per day—and to

choose a healthier, more varied mix of these foods. The

variety of produce available to Americans has blossomed in

recent years, but are consumers responding? The first step

in determining this is to ask who eats what, where, and how

much. Since 2000, ERS has been analyzing data from

national USDA food consumption surveys, and we are

ready to share some highlights.

Eighteen studies of fruits and vegetables have been completed (available on the enclosed CD). The research 

program is ongoing and will utilize data from both federal

food consumption surveys and private scanner data.

Interested readers should check the area "Who eats what

and where" under www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/Consumption

for future articles on fruits, vegetables, and other commodities, such as various meat products, wheat, and sweeteners.

Preferences for fruits and vegetables vary by age

• Seniors eat fewer French fries and potato chips than toddlers; however, seniors eat more fresh and canned potatoes than younger consumers.

• Toddlers also like to eat apples, fresh as well as

processed, whereas adults age 20-59 eat the fewest

apples.

• Women 40 and older eat the most spinach, while

teenage girls eat the least.

Household income affects consumption of most fruits

and vegetables

• High-income consumers drink more orange juice, while

low-income consumers drink more orange drinks (less

than 10 percent juice).

• Consumption of French fries does not vary by income.

• Compared with low-income consumers, high-income

consumers eat more of many vegetables, including fresh

celery, garlic, cucumbers, bell peppers, mushrooms, and

tomatoes. 

The at-home market dominates most fruit and vegetable

consumption, except—

• Eighty-eight percent of French fries are eaten away

from home; fast-food establishments account for 67 

percent.

• About 60 percent of catsup is consumed away from

home, and fast-food establishments account for 

one-third. 

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Economic 

Research

Service

Agriculture Information Bulletin Number 792-2 October 2004

U.S. Fruit and Vegetable

Consumption 

Who, What, Where, and How Much

Biing-Hwan Lin, blin@ers.usda.gov, (202) 694-5458

Jane Reed, allshous@ers.usda.gov, 202-694-5449

Gary Lucier, glucier@ers.usda.gov, 202-694-5253
Distinct racial/ethnic preferences exist for fruits 

and vegetables

• Black consumers, though just 13 percent of the U.S.

population, account for 21 percent of sweet potato consumption. Puerto Rican Hispanics consume as many

sweet potatoes as Black consumers. 

• White and Hispanic consumers eat more bell peppers

than Blacks and Asians. Blacks eat one-third less per

capita than others.

• Per capita spinach consumption is highest among

Asians.

• Asians like to eat mushrooms. Blacks eat only one-third

as much as Asians per capita.

• Hispanics consume three times more dry beans per

capita than the national average. 

Regional variations are also evident among some 

vegetables

• Consumers in the South eat more fresh cabbage than

consumers in other regions. As for sauerkraut, threefourths was eaten in the Midwest and East.

• Watermelon consumption is greatest in the West.

Vegetable consumption varies by where consumers live

• Consumers in suburban and rural areas eat about 40 percent fewer fresh snap beans than those living in cities.

• Suburban consumers eat more cucumbers than other

consumers do.

Fruits and vegetables are consumed in a variety of ways

• Consumers purchase sweet corn as fresh, frozen, or

canned, in nearly equal proportions.

• Processed tomato products account for 80 percent of

total tomato consumption. The largest processed use of

tomatoes is for sauces, followed by tomato paste,

canned whole tomato products, and catsup and juice.

Information Source

The complete series of studies from which this research

brief is drawn can be accessed at www.ers.usda.gov/

Briefing/Consumption.

2 Economic Research Service / USDA

Agriculture Information Bulletin 792-2

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex,

religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET

Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

USDA has conducted periodic surveys of household and

individual food consumption in the United States since

the 1930s. The most recent surveys—the 1994-96 and

1998 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals

(CSFII), conducted by USDA's Agricultural Research

Service (ARS)—underpin these findings. Each year of

the 1994-96 data set comprises a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized persons residing in

50 States and Washington, DC. The 1998 CSFII was a

supplemental survey to the 1994-96 CSFII. The supplemental survey was strictly focused on children.

In the CSFII, 2 nonconsecutive days of dietary data for

individuals of all ages were collected through in-person

interviews using 24-hour recalls. The 1994-96 CSFII

data set includes information on the food and nutrient

intakes of 15,303 individuals, while the 1998 CSFII

data set includes 5,559 children up to 9 years old. 

The respondents provided a list of foods consumed as

well as information on where, when, and how much of

each food was eaten. Standardized probes were used to

collect details on food descriptions and amount of food

eaten. Where the food was purchased was coded by

location. Economic, social, and demographic characteristics were also collected for each respondent. This rich

CSFII database together with the Pyramid Servings

Database and Food Commodity Intake Database 

developed by ARS enable researchers to estimate the

market/consumption distribution of agricultural 

commodities by many delineations.

How We Determined Who Ate What?