The holidays bring large increases in food spending for both food at home and food away from home. Consumers’ decisions during this season can have important implications for food manufacturers. Seven in 10 consumers expect food prices to affect their holiday meal plans, according to a new survey. Of those, one in four say they will buy fewer items of less variety and serve less food overall. Some 24.5% of consumers say they will serve less meat. Altogether, 69% of those surveyed as part of the quarterly Gardner Food and Agricultural Policy Survey, conducted in November, said they expected prices to affect their meal plans, up from 61.1% in 2022 and 67.9% in 2023.
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