The ERS Food Dollar measures the value of food production along the domestic food supply chains for dozens of detailed food spending accounts. The measures of value are reported in both millions of dollars and cents per food dollar. A "food dollar" is a single dollar bill that represents all U.S. spending on domestically produced food in that account. Representing all costs of producing food with a single dollar bill makes it easier to compare supply chain cost structures for different items, or to compare costs over time. On March 10, 2026, the Food Dollar model and underlying data system were updated to expand coverage with data on dozens of detailed food accounts and to refine the data to more accurately capture total food spending. Nominal data (i.e., not adjusted for inflation) are available for 2007 to 2024.
The Food Dollar’s food spending accounts include product-specific food-at-home accounts, such as bakery products or beef at home, and outlet-specific food-away-from-home accounts, such as food at full-service restaurants or food at schools and colleges. Each account has data from three different bills that uniquely describe the domestic supply chain. These bills are the marketing bill, the industry group bill, and the primary factor bill. Each bill provides the share of a food dollar allocated to the components that comprise each respective bill. Collectively, the Food Dollar offers various perspectives on the U.S. food system and where our food dollars go.
- The marketing bill divides food dollars into the farm share, the amount contributed by the total sales proceeds of farm commodities linked to food, and the marketing share, the amount contributed by the total costs of marketing food. Marketing costs are the costs of processing, transporting, and selling farm commodities as food at places such as restaurants and grocery stores.
- The industry group bill divides a food dollar into the amount contributed by each industry group. Industry groups are collections of establishments engaging in similar production activities (e.g., crop production, food processing, and energy).
- The primary factor bill divides a food dollar by source of value added (salaries and benefits, property income, and output taxes) as well as imported inputs for that food dollar’s supply chain.
The Food Dollar is updated each November. The next update is scheduled for November 17, 2026, and will include the 2025 Food Dollar as well as revisions to currently published estimates.
Note: The Food Dollar and marketing bill data sets available under Archived Data are previously published estimates and are based on different methodologies. The Archived Data are not directly comparable to the current data.
Recommended citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (2026). Food Dollar [data product].