Items Tagged with 'food desert'

Poor households spend most of their food stamp money (nearly 75%) on vegetables, fruits, grain products, meat, and meat alternatives, according to a study released in April. Lower-cost red meats (7.8%) and milk and yogurt (7.6%) account for the largest shares of food consumed at home. That’s the finding of a report titled “Building a Healthy America: A Profile of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program” and published by the Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Research and Analysis, in the United States Department of Agriculture.

Milk production has increased 15% in the 10 years from 2002 to 2011. And 2012 is off to a good start, with production in the first quarter up 5.2% compared to the same period a year ago. Total cheese production (excluding cottage cheeses) rose 3.6% in 2010 to 10.4 billion pounds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Italian varieties (at 4.42 billion pounds) rose 5.8%, and American-type cheese increased 1.7%, accounting for 41% of total cheese production. Clearly, America’s dairy processors are productive.