Female-Headed Households Spend Less on Food

Households headed by single mothers spend less money, but a greater share of their income, on food than do two-parent households. The lower spending is due primarily to their lower income and education levels- more so than to the absence of a male partner. This, however, does not necessarily imply that these households have lower food consumption or nutrition. The dramatic growth in the number of single-parent households- particularly those headed by a female-has drawn the interest of food marketers and government officials, who are trying to determine if female-headed households have different food spending patterns than other households, and what factors might influence their food spending decisions. Their interest is spurred by the fact that between 1970 and 1988, the number of female-headed households more than doubled from 3.4 million to 8.1 million-a growth from 12 percent to 24 percent of all family groups with children under age 18. An increasing proportion of U.S. children are raised in femaleheaded households-an estimated 60 percent of all children born today will spend some of their child-hood in a single-parent household, most often one headed by a woman