A new national consumer survey shows after a fickle jump up last month in willingness to pay higher prices for many foodstuffs, consumers are now willing to pay less for all food products compared with one year ago.

The national Food Demand Survey (FooDS) is done monthly by Oklahoma State University to track consumer preferences and sentiments on the safety, quality, and price of food at home and away from home. It puts a particular focus on meat demand. The August survey is now online.

In July the survey noted a slight bump up in consumer willingness to pay for steak, chicken breast and deli ham from the previous month, but that was reversed in the August survey and the entire slate of products continues a decline in consumer satisfaction with pricing compared with this time last summer.

Consumers also said they are spending very similar total weekly amounts on both eating at home and eating out as they did this time last year.

Consumers also said compared with last month they expect slightly higher prices for chicken and pork, and lower prices for beef.

They also continued to put taste, safety, nutrition and price as their top four food values.

Their top four food concerns continue to be:
1. Finding affordable foods that fit their budgets
2. Avoiding certain nutrients or ingredients
3. Avoiding pesticides, added hormones and antibiotics
4. Losing weight

Consumers also were asked about shopping for eggs and what attributes are most important. As one might expect, price was first, size of the egg second (arguably another value question), and caged vs. cage-free was third. They followed that with color, businesses donating to a social cause, and brand-name preference.