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Food Check-Out Week Comes Around Pretty Quickly for Americans

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 February 2006, 15:00 CST

By Valerie Phillips Deseret Morning News

Farm bureaus across the nation are currently celebrating Food Check-Out Week, the amount of time it takes Americans to earn enough disposable income to buy all the food they eat for the entire year.

While it seems we spend a lot at the grocery store, the Farm Bureau points out Americans pay less for food than citizens of any other country in the world -- 9.5 percent of their disposable income. It takes only 35 days for most Americans to earn enough money to buy their groceries and restaurant meals for the year.

A Farm Bureau press release also points out that the percentage of income that's spent on food has steadily declined during the past 35 years. That's especially noteworthy considering that today we buy more convenience and take-out foods, which cost more than whole foods.

Sometimes I feel sticker shock while looking in the meat case, but then I consider how much hourly wages have gone up over the years. Farmers and ranchers have had to absorb increased prices for land, farm equipment, animal feed and gasoline to operate their trucks and tractors, too.

It's also noteworthy considering that Tax Freedom Day -- which marks the amount of time that the average American must work to pay off all his or her taxes -- usually comes around in April. It takes more than two months longer to pay off your taxes than it does to buy food for the whole year.

The Salt Lake County Farm Bureau will be at Peterson's Marketplace in Riverton on Saturday at 11 a.m., handing out information and surprising a couple of shoppers by buying their groceries for them. In addition, The State Farm Bureau Women's Committee is donating $350 to the Ronald McDonald House for food purchases.

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If you want Super Bowl chow that authentically reflects the NFL teams that are playing, DON'T represent the Pittsburgh Steelers with Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches or Pennsylvania Dutch foods. Those come from the OTHER side of Pennsylvania, warns my friend Karin Welzel, the food editor at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

A few weeks ago, when it looked like the Steelers were likely to make the big game, I e-mailed Welzel and asked what would be appropriate.

"We are a highly ethnic community -- favorite foods are pierogies, sauerkraut and noodles (haluski), stuffed cabbage rolls, kielbasa, Iron City beer and Italian sausage with grilled peppers and onions," she replied.

By "ethnic" we're talking Polish/Eastern European. Pierogies are dumplings of dough stuffed with savory filling -- often potatoes, onions and cheese -- and boiled, then pan-fried. I've seen them in the frozen-food section here in Utah. Haluski is a mix of egg noodles and sauteed cabbage with lots of butter, said Welzel.

A signature Pittsburgh sandwich that's served at the local Primanti Bros. restaurants consists of a hunk of grilled meat, cole slaw, fried egg, tomato and French fries stuck between two slabs of chewy Italian bread. That combination almost makes the robust Philly Cheesesteak sound anemic.

Welzel took exception to the Food Network's menu for the showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks that included Philly Cheesesteak and Emeril's Pennsylvania Dutch corn chowder.

"Pittsburghers do not consider ANYTHING east of Harrisburg to be part of the Commonwealth," wrote Welzel.

As for Seattle, Hsiao-Ching Chou, food editor at the Seattle Post- Intelligencer, suggested smoked salmon, salmon chowder, oysters, clams, mussels, Dungeness crab and spring rolls as a nod to Seattle's Asian influences. There's also Washington apples, cherries, berries and Walla Walla sweet onions.

After fielding calls about green Jell-O and Dutch ovens during the 2002 Winter Olympics, I know how it feels to try to explain local cuisine.

E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com

Source: Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

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