The cost of food in America remains affordable. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, American consumers spend, on average, just over 10 percent of their disposable income for food. That means that the average household will have earned enough disposable income – that portion of income available for spending or saving – to pay for its annual food supply in about seven weeks, said Kentucky Farm Bureau President Mark Haney.

“America’s food supply is the most affordable as well as the safest in the world”, Haney said. “Domestic foods that are produced by farmers in Kentucky and throughout the United States are responsible, in part, for our nation’s increased standard of living.”

In recognition of this, Clinton County Farm Bureau is celebrating February 19-25, 2012, as Food Check-Out Week.

Long after Food Check-Out Week, Americans are required to continue earning income to pay for other necessities. The Tax Foundation has reported that Americans must work approximately 99 days to pay their federal taxes.

“We work much long to pay for federal taxes than for food,” Haney said.

Additional information on the history of Food Check-Out Week is available at the American Farm Bureau website.