It's True, We're Buying More Fresh Food

Even as Americans eat more Oreos, and even in the face of rising food prices, fresh food is the fastest growing department at the supermarket, according to Nielsen. With consumers continuing to lose their taste for frozen and canned goods in 2013, fresh food sales grew 5.4 percent from a year earlier, to $134 billion. They now represent about 30 percent of supermarket sales.

That grocers are stocking an ever-greater selection of fresh foods is contributing to the growth, says Jonna Parker, director of Nielsen’s Perishables Group. Another factor: Mass merchants, such as Wal-Mart Stores, and club stores are selling more fresh foods; these retailers are projected to account for one-quarter of fresh-food sales by 2016.