Restaurants, both full-service and fast food, account for more than 77 percent of all food-away-from-home sales. American consumers spend 48.6 percent of their food budget on food consumed away from home, according to the National Restaurant Association. The United States has 960,000 restaurants and foodservice outlets. According to USDA, foodservice establishments sold $574 billion worth of meals and snacks in 2009 (excluding alcoholic beverages).

Spending on food away from home accounts for about half of total food expenditures, up from 34 percent in 1974. Factors influencing the increased consumption of food away from home include growing consumer demand for a variety of foods, convenience and entertainment.
 

Sources

Food CPI, Prices and Expenditures, Briefing Room, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA.

Let’s Eat Out. Americans Weigh Taste, Convenience and Nutrition, ERS, USDA, 2006.

National Restaurant Association


Other Links

• American Culinary Federation - Promotes the professional image of American chefs.
• Food Franchise.com - The online resource for fast food, quick service and takeout restaurant franchises.
• Founding Farmers - This Washington, D.C., restaurant, is the second one owned and sourced by the North Dakota Farmers Union. Its sister restaurant located in Georgetown is Farmers and Fishers, which was originally named Agraria.
• International Hotel and Restaurant Association
• Local Sources, Healthy Kids' Meals, Sustainable Seafood & Gluten-Free Cuisine Among Hottest restaurant menu Trends in 2011, National Restaurant Association, 2010.
• Nation’s Restaurant News - A commercial publication covering the U.S. restaurant industry.
• National Council of Chain Restaurants
• National Food Industry Associations
• National Restaurant Association
• QSR Online - This magazine covers the quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry. The Web site includes a list of the top 50 QSRs.
• State Restaurant Associations

Links checked February 2011.