THOMASVILLE, Ga. -- Harris Interactive has released results of a study commissioned by the Grains Foods Foundation that reports that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of women at some time pack a lunch for themselves, with 39 percent indicating they do so at least once a week. That number is expected to grow, with more than one-third (37 percent) of U.S. women who pack their own lunches indicating they plan to do so more often in the coming year than they have in the past.
National market research company NPD Group has reported that adult U.S.consumers will be carrying more than 8.5 billion brown-bag lunches this year.
The current state of the economy seems to be driving the brown bag craze, with 81 percent of women indicating that money is an important factor for packing their own lunch. Almost half of U.S. women eat lunch out at least once per week, spending an average of $9 each time, according to the survey.
Brown bagging also makes sense for kids. The Harris survey found that women with school-age children at home are more likely than those without children (59 percent) to pack a lunch.
