do the poor pay more for food item selection and price differences affect low income household costs by phillip r kaufman james m macdonald steve lutz david smallwood rural economics division economic research service us department of agriculture agricultural report no 759 abstract households may face higher prices three reasons 1 on aver age spend less in supermarkets which typically offer lowest greatest range brands package sizes quality choices 2 are likely to live suburban locations where lower 3 neighborhoods charge than those nearby despite prevailing surveys expenditures show that other a per unit basis foods they buy realize selecting economical items areas limited due kinds foodstores have sharply acknowledgments authors gratefully acknowledge