COVID-19 Working Paper: The Effects of COVID-19 on Food Sales

by Xiao Dong and Eliana Zeballos

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected food-at-home (FAH) and food-away-from-home (FAFH) sales in the United States. Monthly sales for retail and food services show that food and beverage store sales for the first 8 months of 2020 were up 12.2 percent compared with 2019, but sales for food service and drinking places sales during the same time were down 20.9 percent compared with 2019.

For more information, see COVID-19 Economic Implications for Agriculture, Food, and Rural America.

Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, recession, food sales, FAH, food at home, FAFH, food away from home, food services, retail food, restaurants, county-level unemployment

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