How do consumers view "healthy" food and what do agrifood industry professionals believe are consumers’ demands? This blog post delves into the results of two surveys conducted by Purdue's Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS) and the Digital Innovation in Agrifood Systems Lab (DIAL) that suggest differences between what consumers expect and what the industry thinks they want.

The public’s familiarity with the term “food insecurity” and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is mixed, with approximately 40% of Americans reporting they are only “slightly familiar” or “not at all familiar” with the concept and program, according to June’s Consumer Food Insights Report (CFI).

In this edition, we explore what consumers think about healthy diets and examine responses by self-rated diet quality. Additional questions explore consumer perceptions of and preferences for healthy food. What does “healthy food” mean to the consumer? What do they look for at the store? Do they believe in the connection between a good diet and a healthy life?

The Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability launches a new tool that tracks the average cost of a cheeseburger and the cost of each ingredient of the cheeseburger over time. The National Cost of a Cheeseburger Dashboard features the average cost of a cheeseburger over time, the cost of each ingredient of the cheeseburger over time and the inflation-adjusted cost of a cheeseburger over time, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In this edition, we explore the last three years of CFI data disaggregated by U.S. Census region: (1) Northeast, (2) Midwest, (3) South and (4) West. Additional questions this month measure consumer perceptions of seed oils, which have come into the spotlight in recent months.

New questions this month explore consumer experiences with food prices and home food production. How do consumers describe current grocery prices? How are they adapting? Are they producing their own food? The report also includes urban-rural classification as part of its demographic analysis this month.

This month, the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability introduces a new tool that measures national diet quality on a monthly basis. Purdue's American Diet Quality Index provides near-real time information about adult consumers' diets and, combined with our other research efforts, will give insight into how diet quality interacts with the broader food system, consumer behavior and economic conditions.

New questions this month explore consumer perceptions of processed foods. Do they know what they are? Are people concerned about their healthfulness? Why do they think people might choose them over unprocessed or minimally processed alternatives?

The new Consumer Food Insights results from Purdue University shows stress levels due to grocery prices are mixed, and most consumers are at least somewhat familiar with the concept of tariffs.