Jff\ Division of Agricultural Sciences UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA VO*Y A*o OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ** JESSIE V. COLES MARILYN DUNSING MARGARET M. HARD ANDREA C. MACKEY ^5^5 WESTERN l REGIONAL^ ^RESEARCH' ^\ PUBLICATION Results of Studies Made in Retail Stores CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 782 Western Regional Research Publication WESTERN l REGIONAL^ ^RESEARclh (^% PUBLICATION Cooperating agencies: The agricultural experiment stations of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Regional Administrative Adviser:1 Paul F. Sharp, California Agricultural Experiment Station, Berkeley (1955) James E. Kraus, Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, Moscow (1956-1958) R. M. Alexander, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, Corvallis (1959) - S»E.S,D. Representative: Paul J. Jehlik Technical Committee:1 A rizona : Ethel M. Thompson (1955) Mary Adele Wood (1956) California : Jessie V. Coles Marilyn Dunsing Bessie B. Cook (1955-1958) Colorado: Ferne Bowman Edna Page (1958) Idaho : Mary V. Zaehringer Joyce Hofstrand (1959) Montana : Helen Mayfield (1955-1958) Mary Ann Watson (1959-1960) 4 Nevada: Jan Harper (1955-1956) Genevieve Scheier (1957) Mary Ruth Cornwell (1958-1960) New Mexico : Eunice Kelly Edith Lantz (1955) Oregon: Andrea C. Mackey Utah: Ethelwyn B. Wilcox (1955-1958) Leora S. Galloway (1957) Washington: Margaret M. Hard Wyoming: Emma J. Thiessen (1955) Verna Hitchcock (1956) Helen Souders (1957-1959) Marjorie Hamilton (1960) The research on which this report is based was made possible with funds from the allotments under the Research and Marketing Act of 1946. Under the procedure of cooperative publications, this regional report becomes, in effect, an identical publication of each of the cooperating agencies, and is mailed » under the frank and indicia of each. Limited supplies of this publication are avail- able at the sources listed above. It is suggested that requests be sent to one source only. * k ' Dates in parentheses show periods during which individuals served. All others served during the entire period. Fruits and vegetables make a valuable contribution to good nutrition and appetizing meals; also, the growing, processing, and marketing of these products are important in the economy of the western region. The consumption of fruits and vegetables, fresh and processed, de- pends to a considerable degree upon their availability in retail stores and their prices. This study surveys availability and prices of selected products for the western region. While other studies in the region have investigated individual products (such as potatoes) or groups of related products (such as citrus fruits), this is the first study of a large number of differ- ent fruits and vegetables. Other considerations than availability and price do, of course, also influence consumers' choices. Among them are the quality of the prod- ucts, their nutritive value, ease of preparation, and care required in the home. These considerations, going beyond the scope of this survey, will be subjects of continued studies of fruits and vegetables in this region. The information secured in this survey was to provide the foundations for such further intensive studies. This survey, therefore, was planned pri- marily to obtain quantitative information rather than to explain reasons for current marketing practices. It supplies precise data on availability and prices of the products studied. November, 1961 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to express their appreciation of the services of Dr. George A. Baker and Dr. Edward B. Roessler, professors of Mathematics, and Statisticians in the Experiment Station, University of California, Davis, who selected the regional sample and who planned the selection of stores within each county. The survey sheets and the instructions for field workers and for state supervisors were prepared and the data were edited, tabulated, and summarized at the Experi- ment Station, University of California, Berkeley. Special acknowledgment is made of the valuable services of Mrs. Christine McElravy who assisted in this work. The cooperation of the personnel of the stores surveyed and of the field workers in each county is greatly appreciated. CONTENTS The Findings 5 Methods of Procedure 8 Availability of Fruits and Vegetables 12 Regional Availability 12 Fruits 14 Vegetables 15 Processed Juices 18 Varieties of Selected Fresh Products 19 Selected Fresh Products Prepackaged and in Bulk 22 Availability by Types of Stores 24 Size of Stores 24 Organization of Stores 27 Location of Stores 30 Number of Brands of Selected Processed Products 32 Number of Sizes of Containers of Selected Processed Products 34 Availability in 26 Counties 36 Prices of Fruits and Vegetables 39 Display of Prices 39 In All Stores 39 Fresh Products by Types of Stores 41 Prices in All Stores 42 Fruits 43 Vegetables 46 Processed Juices 49 Prices of Specific Varieties of Selected Fresh Products 49 Prices of Selected Fresh Products Prepackaged and in Bulk 51 Prices in Stores Classified by Type 52 Size of Stores 53 Organization of Stores 54 Location of Stores 55 Price in 26 Counties 55 Appendix A: Tables A-l-A-12 62 Appendix B: List of Microfilmed and Mimeographed Tables B-l-B-18 74 The Authors: Jessie V. Coles, Professor of Home Economics and Home Economist, California Agricultural Experiment Station, Berkeley. Marilyn Dunsing, Associate Professor of Home Economics and Associate Home Economist, California Agricultural Experiment Station, Davis. Margaret M. Hard, Professor of Foods and Nutrition, College of Home Economics and Home Economist and Chairman, Department of Home Eco- nomics, Washington Agricultural Experiment Station, Pullman. Andrea C. Mackey, Professor of Home Economics and Home Economist, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, Corvallis. Results of Studies Made in Retail Stores AVAILABILITY AND PRICES OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN THE WESTERN REGION2 Jessie V. Coles, Marilyn Dunsing, Margaret M. Hard, and Andrea C. Mackey THE FINDINGS Judging from the availability of fruits and vegetables in the western region, household buyers have little or no diffi- culty in selecting nutritional and ap- petizing fruits and vegetables for their families' diets at prices which fit their pocketbooks. Various combinations of fresh, canned, frozen, and dried fruits and vegetables offered at a wide range of prices were available during the different seasons in the stores in the region. If the desired products were not available fresh, house- hold buyers could usually make alterna- tive choices among the processed prod- ucts. If prices or quality of available products were not satisfactory, most stores permitted choices between several satis- factory substitutes. PRODUCTS MOST FREQUENTLY AVAILABLE Listed below are fruits and vegetables, fresh and processed, which were practi- cally standard items in retail grocery stores in the region: they were available in at least nine out of every 10 stores each month surveyed during the year. The list also reveals the opportunities families have to obtain important food elements 2 Submitted for publication, March 14, 1961. because many of the fruits and vegetables listed are among those nutritionally most valuable. Fruits available in 90 per cent or more of stores FRESH Bananas Lemons Oranges Pineapple Grape juice Grapefruit juice Orange juice CANNED Applesauce Apricots Fruit cocktail Grapefruit, sections Peaches Pears FROZEN Lemonade Orange juice DRIED Prunes Seedless raisins Vegetables available in 90 per cent or more of stores ' FRESH Tomatoes Cabbage Carrots Celery Head lettuce Onions Tomatoes CANNED Asparagus Beets Corn Green beans Lima beans Peas Sweet potatoes Spinach Tomato juice Mixed vegetable juice FROZEN Corn Peas Green beans Mixed vegetables DRIED Beans: white pinto Lima beans Split peas [5] The following additional fresh prod- ucts were available in half or more of the stores during several or all of the six months surveyed: PER CENT PRODUCT OF STOR£S MONTHS Apples 92-98 Sept.-May 75 July Cantaloupes 51-85 May-Sept. Grapefruit 81-92 All six months Asparagus 61-72 Mar., May Broccoli 50-60 Nov.-Mar. Cauliflower 55-72 All six months Corn-on-cob 70-78 May-Sept. Green beans 60 July-Sept. Potatoes 92-98 Sept.-May 64 July Squash 60-76 All six months Sweet potatoes 63-89 Sept.-May A number of processed fruits and vegetables other than those in the "90 per cent" group were available in the ma- jority of stores. Canned blueberries, boy- senberries, three kinds of cherries, apple juice, orange-and-grapefruit juice were available in at least two-thirds of the stores. Frozen peaches, strawberries, rasp- berries, grape juice, grapefruit juice, and pineapple juice were carried by half or more of the stores, and dried apricots, peaches, and seeded raisins were avail- able in 60 to 70 per cent of the stores. Frozen asparagus, lima beans, broccoli, spinach, and French fried potatoes were carried by 80 per cent or more of the stores, and frozen squash by more than half. Canned wax beans and dried instant potato were available in about 70 per cent of the stores. PRICES OF PRODUCTS MOST FREQUENTLY AVAILABLE Many of the most highly available fruits and vegetables were among the least expensive products surveyed, and others were within the medium price range. Fresh fruits lowest in price were or- anges and grapefruit. Apples were com- paratively inexpensive during four months; bananas and lemons somewhat higher. Cantaloupes were very inexpen- sive in September, slightly higher in July. Fresh vegetables lowest in price were potatoes, cabbage, onions, beets, and car- rots. Celery, head lettuce, squash, cauli- flower, broccoli, and sweet potatoes were moderately priced; asparagus, spinach, tomatoes, peas, and green beans some- what higher. Processed fruits and vegetables were studied as canned, frozen, and dried products. Canned fruits: least expensive were peaches and applesauce. Grapefruit sec- tions, pears, and apricots were next low- est. Pineapple and red tart cherries were higher. Canned vegetables: tomatoes, beets, spinach were lowest in price; then came peas and beans ; corn, sweet potatoes, and lima beans were slightly higher. Frozen fruits and vegetables were, rela- tive to the canned and dried products, more expensive — some very expensive. Dried fruits: the most frequently avail- able were among the least expensive of such products. Dried vegetables were lowest in price per pound. Processed juices: Frozen juices cost much more than the corresponding canned products. Edible ready-to-eat products : Their mean prices per pound were com- puted for a few products from mean prices as purchased fresh, canned, frozen or dried. For eight of the 11 fruits and vegetables for which these prices were computed the prices of the fresh products were lower than those of the canned or frozen, and those of the canned were lower than those of the frozen. On the other hand, mean prices of canned and frozen orange and grapefruit juices were about the same, and were only about half or less than half as much as the prices of the fresh juices. DISPLAY OF PRICES Prices of processed fruits and vege- tables were readily displayed to custom- ers; they were posted on or near the 6 products in practically all the stores sur- veyed. However, prices of fresh products were on the whole not displayed in about 10 per cent of the stores which carried them. Prices of highly available products tended to be posted somewhat less often than prices of less available products. For most products prices of fresh fruits and vegetables were posted in only about two-thirds of the smallest stores (those with 1 or 2 employees) . Practically all the largest stores (those with 15 or more employees), posted prices. Prices of fresh products were more fre- quently displayed in multi-unit than in single-unit stores. They were more often posted in single-unit stores which were affiliated with other such stores for the purpose of cooperative buying, advertis- ing, and the like than they were in stores which were not so affiliated. Likewise, prices were more often posted in urban than in rural stores. VARIETIES OF FRESH PRODUCTS Consumers could often choose among several varieties or forms of fruits and vegetables, particularly among varieties of some fresh products. For example, dur- ing the months when apples were most available, about three-fifths or more of the stores which carried them offered three or more varieties. As many as seven varieties were carried by some stores. Varieties of some products were, how- ever, not specified by the stores. One- third or more of all stores, for example, did not specify the varieties of potatoes they were offering. FRESH PRODUCTS PREPACKAGED AND IN BULK Some fresh fruits and vegetables were available both prepackaged and in bulk, and in some stores consumers could choose between them. Of the three fresh fruits and four fresh vegetables included in the study, all ex- cept spinach were more often available in bulk than prepackaged. In general, the vegetables were more frequently prepack- aged than the fruits. Very few stores car- ried prepackaged products without also offering the same product in bulk. Prices of apples, oranges, grapefruit, and potatoes were higher when sold in bulk rather than in packages. On the other hand, prepackaged tomatoes cost al- most half again as much as the bulk most months, and prepackaged spinach cost 2% to 3 times as much as the bulk, de- pending upon the season. NUMBER OF BRANDS AND SIZES OF CONTAINERS OF PROCESSED PRODUCTS For many processed products rather wide choices were possible among brands and among the sizes of containers in which they were available. More brands and a greater variety in sizes of contain- ers were usually offered for readily avail- able products. For those products readily available the number of brands and sizes of containers increased with the size of the stores. Multi-unit stores carried more brands and more sizes of containers than single-unit stores; affiliated single-unit stores more than unaffiliated ones ; urban stores more than rural stores. Canned and dried prod- ucts were available in a larger number of sizes of containers than the frozen. TYPES OF STORES IN WHICH PRODUCTS WERE AVAILABLE Availability of products Consumers' opportunities for choices varied with size, organization, and loca- tion of stores. Size of stores. More products were available in the largest stores (15 or more employees) than in the smallest (1 or 2 employees) . Individual products were carried by a larger proportion of the larger stores at all seasons. The smallest stores limited their sup- plies to the less perishable of the fresh [7] products; the larger ones carried more of the perishables. Larger stores carried more seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables and for longer periods. The smallest stores tended to offer only a relatively few kinds of canned, frozen, and dried products. They also tended to carry only one or a very few varieties or forms of a given product; the larger stores offered a greater choice in kinds, varieties, and forms of their products. Organization of stores. The prod- ucts studied were more often available in the multi-unit than in the single-unit stores and more often in the affiliated than in the unaffiliated single-unit stores. On the whole, availability of products in the affiliated single-unit stores tended to be somewhat more like that of multi-unit stores than that of the unaffiliated single- unit stores. Location of stores. The fruits and vegetables studied were more often avail- able in the stores in urban than in rural areas. Differences were somewhat more pronounced for vegetables than for fruits, especially for fresh products. Differences were, however, not as large as when stores were classified by size or organization. Prices Differences in mean prices between dif- ferent types of stores were very small. There was no clear-cut obvious relation- ship between type of store and mean prices as was the case for availability of products. There was some indication, however, that some prices were lower in the larger stores, in the multi-unit stores, in the affiliated single-unit stores, and in urban stores. METHODS OF PROCEDURE SAMPLE SELECTION To find retail grocery stores to repre- sent the western region in this survey, first the sample areas and then the specific stores in each area to be surveyed were selected. Chosen as the sample unit was the county, the largest unit (below state level) in the region for which data were available. Selection of the sample counties de- pended in part on the following informa- tion: (1) the latest population estimates for each county,3 (2) the number of re- tail food stores in each country,4 and (3) the volume of sales of these food stores.4 Twenty-six counties were selected as representative of the western region. The :i Rand McNally Commercial Atlas and Mar- keting Guide, 1956. 4 Retail Trade Bulletins R-l Series, 1954 Cen- sus of Business, U. S. Department of Commerce. Retail food stores rather than retail grocery stores were used because information concern- ing number of grocery stores was not available unless a county had a minimum of 500 estab- lishments or was a standard metropolitan area. states, their respective counties, and the major city in each county are listed and shown on the map on page 9. Although the 26 counties selected con- * stituted only 6 per cent of all counties in the region they contained 48 per cent of the estimated 1955 population and 45 per cent of the retail food stores ; these stores accounted for 52 per cent of the sales volume of all food stores in the region. To select a sample of retail grocery stores representative of the region, infor- mation was needed on the characteristics of these stores. (Information on store characteristics collected by the Bureau of the Census for 1954 had not as yet been published.) An examination of the data available for the 1948 Census of Business and that published for the 1954 Census revealed that the number of retail food stores and their volume of sales had changed to such an extent from 1948 to 1954 that the data concerning store char- acteristics in 1948 could not be assumed to apply to the stores in existence in 1954. [8] •Kinj; (Seattle) WASHINGTON ,S)0Janr .. I Spokane)! Kootenai (Coeur d'Aleni Multnomah (Portland) Cascade' i Great Falls) Umatilla ( Pendleton I Lar I Eugene) OREGON * IDAHO Ada Boise) Butte (Chicol Alameda I Oakland ) CALIFORNIA Fresno Fresno) MONTANA ■9* ^M Veil. ^^ in; Yellowstone Mines) / WYOMING Bannock AA / ^^^M 1 < Pocatello) ^K / Natrona ^H I Washoe "^T^^"^--^ / Casper J^H ^9 ' ( Reno ) / * Laramie ^^^ "" 1 — 1 ( Iheyenne i^H NEVADA / Salt Lake / l Salt Lake City ) / Denver ^^^^^^^ / UTAH / I Denver '^BB 1 Arapahoe / ( Greater Denver ) \ Clark / COLORADO \ ( Las Vegas) 1 f Puehlo ^ (Pueblo) Los Angeles > Bernalillo (Los Angeles) \ ARIZONA / 1 Albuquerque ) j^^^^^ San Diego ) ^, / EfS5f^B(San Diego)/ ^V Maricopa / ^^^ (Phoenix) / NEW MEXICO Location of the 26 counties surveyed, with major city (in parenthesis) listed for each county. As a result, before selecting a sample of retail grocery stores, a survey was made to determine the characteristics of stores in each of the 26 counties in November, 1956. Up-to-date lists of all grocery stores in each county were obtained from nu- merous sources (telephone directories, advertising departments of newspapers, Chambers of Commerce, and the like). Tn counties having approximately 150 grocery stores or less, all stores were visited by field workers to obtain the de- [9 sired information. In counties containing more than approximately 150, the ad- dresses of the stores were listed in alpha- betical order and by size of street number. This was done for each city of 2,500 or more inhabitatants, and for the re- mainder of the county. A sample of 150 to 175 stores was selected in each county except in Los Angeles County where it was necessary to visit 446 stores to obtain the minimum sample of 10 per cent of the stores. Data concerning store characteristics were obtained from 3,352 retail grocery stores in the 26-county sample areas. A sample of these stores was then selected for visits by field workers during the year to obtain data on the availability and prices of fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits and vegetables. In selecting the sample the following information was used: (1) the number of equivalent full- time employees which was the most readily obtainable indication of size of store, (2) type of organization, and (3) location of store. For each of three types of organiza- tion— multi-unit stores; single-unit stores affiliated with a cooperative group for buying, advertising, and the like, and single-unit stores not so affiliated — stores were classified on the basis of the number of full-time employees and location of store. The six groupings for the number of employees was 1 or 2, 3 to 6, 7 to 14, 15 to 30, 31 to 62, 63 or more. Stores were classified on the basis of location in incorporated cities or towns just outside incorporated areas; and rural areas (pop- ulation less than 2,500) . Two stores in each category were se- lected for the sample. Since there were 18 categories for each of 3 types of organiza- tion the maximum sample in any county was 108 stores. In each county a large number of categories contained no stores so that the actual number selected ranged from 15 for Natrona County in Wyoming to 16 for Los Angeles County in Cali- fornia. Of the 767 stores chosen, 715 were sur- veyed in April, 1957. During the course of the study, 52 stores either did not par- ticipate or went out of business. Because of budget limitations the sample was re- duced after April to one store in each category, when available, reducing the total number to 457 stores in the 26- county area. In addition, after the first six months surveys were made only every other month. Data were analyzed for fresh fruits and vegetables for six months, May, July, Sep- tember, and November, 1957, and Janu- ary and March, 1958. The data on canned, frozen, and dried products were analyzed for three months as follows: canned — April, July and November; frozen — May, August, and January; dried — June, September, and March. The total number of store visits on which the analysis was based was 2,690 for fresh, 1,326 for canned, 1,349 for frozen, and 1,341 for dried products. Stores were visited by field workers on Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays during the second and third weeks of the month. ANALYSIS OF DATA ON AVAILABILITY OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES Data on availability of fruits and vege- tables were analyzed for 98 different kinds (fresh and processed) not includ- ing mixtures and processed juices. Alto- gether 145 different items were studied. This number included different varieties and forms of several fruits and vegetables as well as the fresh products marketed both prepackaged and in bulk. The num- ber of fresh and processed items was as follows : Fresh: 26 fruits, 34 vegetables Canned: 21 fruits, 13 vegetables, 7 juices Frozen: 7 fruits, 15 vegetables, 5 juices Dried: 9 fruits, 8 vegetables Availability was expressed as the per cent of stores surveyed that had the prod- [10 uct when a field worker visited the store. The availability of each product was de- termined for each county as well as for the region. Availability by type of products The data were used to estimate the availability of fresh, canned, frozen, and dried fruits and vegetables in all stores in the western region. Processed products. For canned, frozen, and dried products an analysis of the data indicated that the variation in availability of these products for the three months surveyed was not signifi- cant. Of the 85 processed products sur- veyed the absolute variation in availabil- ity from one month to another was less than 5 per cent for 74 (96 per cent) of the products. The absolute variation was less than 3 per cent for approximately 80 percent of the products. Therefore, in ob- taining a regional estimate the availabil- ity data for the three months were com- bined. The data were weighted on the basis of the number of grocery stores in each of the 26 counties. For 23 counties the number of grocery stores was based on the number reported in 1954 by the Bu- reau of the Census, and for the three other counties it was the actual number of stores surveyed by field workers.5 Fresh products. For fresh fruits and vegetables the data analyzed for every other month could not be assumed to be typical of the availability of these prod- ucts during the year. For example, some of the fresh products had their peak avail- ability during months other than the six months for which the data were analyzed. Therefore, the regional estimate of the availability of fresh products was deter- mined for each of the six months rather than for the six months combined. The 5 As indicated in footnote 4 the number of grocery stores was not reported for counties having fewer than 500 establishments. As a result the actual number surveyed was used for the three counties of Natrona, Bannock, and Kootenai. estimate for each month was obtained by weighting the availability data for the counties by the number of grocery stores in these counties. Availability by type of stores Availability of products in the stores surveyed was determined for all stores and for stores classified on the basis of number of equivalent full-time employees, organization of stores, and location of stores. The mean number of stores sur- veyed monthly by number of employees was somewhat higher for those stores em- ploying 3 to 6 workers than for stores of other sizes. Almost seven-tenths of the stores surveyed were single-unit rather than multi-unit stores and over four fifths were located in urban rather than in rural areas. Distribution of Stores Surveyed TYPE OF MEAN PER STORE NUMBER CENT Total 448 100.0 Number of employees : 1-2 114 25.5 3-6 130 29.0 7-14 101 22.5 15 or more 103 23.0 Organization : Multi-unit 140 31.2 Single-unit : All 308 68.8 Unaffiliated 172 38.5 Affiliated 136 30.3 Location : Rural 77 17.2 Urban 371 82.8 Availability by other factors Availability in prepackaged and in bulk was determined for a selected group of seven fresh products; the number of "varieties" available for seven fresh prod- ucts also was determined. For three of these products — celery, onions, and grapefruit — "variety" was based on color. For 36 selected processed products the number of brands available in each store and the number of different sizes of containers or packages in which they were available were determined. [in To obtain an indication of the over-all availability of fruits and vegetables, an attempt was made to include not only those that were felt to be highly available but also those that were available in lesser degree. ANALYSIS OF DATA ON PRICES OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES Data on prices of fruits and vegetables were analyzed for 71 products. The num- ber of fresh and processed products was as follows : Fresh: 11 fruits, 17 vegetables Canned: 10 fruits, 9 vegetables, 3 juices Frozen: 5 fruits, 8 vegetables, 2 juices Dried: 3 fruits, 3 vegetables Prices reported in this bulletin were those in stores in which the product was available, and in which price were dis- played at point of product. Price was computed for each product on a per- pound basis (except corn-on-cob: a per- ear basis) . In a few cases prices were available, yet price per pound was not computable because the field workers gave insufficient information concerning weights, e.g., 3 grapefruit for 25^. Spe- cial-sale prices were so few that they were not analyzed separately but were grouped with regular prices. Both mean price and * price range were determined for each product. In general, the type of information presented for prices was the same as pre- sented for availability, with one impor- tant exception. Prices could not be weighted; therefore, all information was presented for prices in the stores sur- veyed. As in the case of availability, prices for processed fruits and vegetables in the stores surveyed were combined for the three-month period, while those for fresh fruits and vegetables were deter- * mined for each of the six months for which the data were analyzed. All prices were determined for each processed prod- uct. If the availability of a fresh product was low, prices for that month were omitted but were determined for those months in which availability was mean- ingful. Prices in the stores surveyed were de- termined for stores classified on the basis of number of equivalent full-time employ- ees, organization of stores, and location of stores. In addition, for a selected group of seven fresh products prices prepack- < aged and in bulk were determined, and for a selected group of seven fresh prod- ucts prices for a number of major "varie- ties" also were determined. AVAILABILITY OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES REGIONAL AVAILABILITY In the western region, as a whole, fruits and vegetables were widely available — vegetables, both fresh and processed, somewhat more so than fruits. In general, stores offered canned products more fre- quently than fresh, frozen, or dried ones. Fruit juices were more often obtainable than vegetables juices, and canned juices more often than frozen ones. Fruits and vegetables offered widely to consumers, both fresh and processed, included citrus fruits, apples, beans, and tomatoes. Fresh seasonal products such as apricots, peaches, asparagus, corn and peas, were not widely available through- out the year but choices could be made from one or more processed products. ^ The fact that so many kinds of fruits and vegetables were available, either fresh or processed or both, is particularly interesting in view of the findings of nu- tritional status studies in the western re- gion. These studies showed that ascorbic . acid, vitamin A, iron, and calcium tend to be low in diets of certain groups of 12] The survey of availability is based on the study of the following products: Fresh: FRUITS Apples Cantaloupes Lemons Pears Apricots Cherries Limes Plums Bananas red tart Melons* Raspberries Blueberries sweet Oranges Strawberries Boysenberries Grapefruit Peaches Watermelons Cherries Grapefruit Pears, Bartlett Canned: dark sweet broken pieces Pineapple Applesauce red tart sections Plums, purple Apricots Royal Ann Peaches Raspberries, red Blueberries Figs, white cling Strawberries Boysenberries Fruit cocktail Freestone Frozen : Boysenberries Grapefruit, sections Pineapple, chunks Strawberries, sliced Cherries, red tart Peaches, sliced Raspberries, red Dried: Apples, sliced Figs, dark Pears, sliced Raisins Applesauce Peaches, halves Prunes seeded Apricots, halves seedless * Other than cant aloupes and watermelons. Fresh: VEGETABLES Asparagus Celery Lettuce Romaine Beans, green Chard other than head Salad greensf Beets Corn-on-cob Mustard greens Spinach Broccoli Endive Peas Squash Cabbage Kale Potatoes Sweet potatoes Carrots Lettuce, head white, mature Tomatoes Cauliflower Onions Turnip greens Beans Corn Spinach Canned: green Lima beans Sweet potatoes Asparagus wax Beets Peas Tomatoes Frozen: Asparagus Corn Potatoes Spinach Beans, green Lima beans French fried Squash Broccoli Peas patties Vegetables, mixed Dried: Beans Garbanzo beans Peas, split pink red kidney (chick peas) Potatoes, instant pinto white Lima beans t Other than lettuce, endive, romaine. Canned: PROCESSED JUICES Apple Grapefruit Orange-and- Tomato Grape Orange grapefruit Vegetable, mixed Frozen: Grape Lemonade Pineapple Grapefruit Orange western people.6 Fruits and vegetables could have supplied these nutrients at least in part, yet in several states the con- sumption of fruits and vegetables was be- low desirable levels. It would appear that for most consumers inability to secure these products in the market was not a major factor contributing to this subop- timal consumption. Fruits Almost two-thirds of the different kinds of fruits included in the study could have been purchased in the region both as fresh and processed during one or more months of the survey. Nearly two-thirds of them were available processed in two or more ways. Among the products that could generally be bought throughout the year, both as fresh and as one or more processed products, were apples, grape- fruit, and pears. For example, fresh grapefruit were offered by more than 80 per cent of the stores, canned by more than 90 per cent, and frozen by almost 40 per cent. Some fruits, such as peaches and straw- berries, which were on the market as fresh products during relatively short seasons, were generally available as proc- essed products in the three representative months studied. Although consumers could buy fresh peaches in most of the stores in July and September only, they could get canned peaches in practically all, and frozen and dried in over half the stores, regardless of the season. Fresh strawberries were offered by one third to almost two thirds of the stores in May and July; canned ones by nearly half; and frozen by almost nine out of 10 stores throughout the year. Fresh fruits. Some fresh fruits were carried by most of the stores throughout the year, while others were carried by only a very few stores during a single 6Ethelyn B. Wilcox, Helen L. Gillum, and Margaret M. Hard, Cooperative Nutritional Status Studies in the Western Region, I. Nu- trient Intake, Utah State Agricultural College, Bulletin No. 383, 1956. month. (See table 1.) Some of the reasons for these wide variations are: total vol- ume of fruits grown; areas in which grown; perishability; extent to which they can be or are stored; and consumer preferences. The standbys of the fruit market — bananas, lemons, oranges, apples, and grapefruit — were offered by most stores of the region during all six months studied. Bananas, lemons, and oranges were almost universally available while apples and grapefruit were not far be- hind. Some seasonal fruits, such as canta- loupes, pears, and strawberries, were found in some stores each month of the study, but peak of the offerings occurred during the months when they were har- vested in largest quantities. Widely sepa- rated areas of production (strawberries and cantaloupes) and storage (pears) ex- tended the season for these fruits. Among the highly seasonal fruits of- fered during only a few months and in widely varying proportions of stores were peaches, plums, apricots, and sweet cher- ries. Watermelons and other melons, ex- cept cantaloupes, had a somewhat longer season. Most berries, other than straw- berries, were offered in very small pro- portions of the stores in one or two months. However, had the survey ex- tended to all 12 months, the availability of some of these highly seasonal fruits might have been higher in months not covered. Cherries and apricots, for ex- ample, are undoubtedly more generally on the market in June than in May and July. Processed fruits. A large array of many kinds of processed fruits was of- fered in the stores of the region. This was especially true of canned fruits, which exceeded frozen and dried products both in number of products and in number of stores offering them. Canned and dried fruits have been on the market for a long time, but frozen products are compara- tively new and more expensive. Cost, [14 Table 1. Availability of Fresh Fruits in the Western Region Product Per cent of stores in which product was available in May July Sept Nov. Jan. March Group I Available six months in 75 per cent or more of stores Bananas Lemons Oranges Apples Grapefruit Group II Available six months — wide seasonal variation Cantaloupes Pears Strawberries Limes Group III Available one to four months — wide seasonal variation Watermelons Melons other than cataloupes and watermelons Peaches Plums Apricots Cherries, sweet Blueberries Boysenberries Raspberries Cherries, red tart 94.9 97.0 95.8 91.8 51.3 40.5 61.7 19.6 38.4 11.1 8.7 0.4 2.8 27.1 1.9 95.4 96.1 95.1 75.2 80.7 85.4 13.8 31.9 27.9 78.9 33.1 85.7 72.2 59.0 41.1 7.4 10.0 19.0 1.1 96.5 95.6 96.7 94.3 81.3 78.7 75.9 14.0 20.6 59.8 51.2 83.5 57.0 2.0 2.4 95.1 96.3 96.8 97.5 10.0 71.7 1.6 17.2 97.7 95.9 96.8 95.1 92.3 1.5 62.4 2.3 22.4 94.3 96.0 94.8 95.3 90.5 1.3 58.8 9.6 14.6 * Less than 0.1 of 1 per cent. convenience in preparation, and flavor undoubtedly influence consumers' pref- erences for the different processed fruits. (See table 2.) Canned applesauce, apricots, cling peaches, pears, pineapple, grapefruit, and fruit cocktail appeared in at least 90 per cent of the stores, all except grapefruit in more than 95 per cent. Canned blue- berries, boysenberries, three kinds of cherries (red tart, dark sweet, Royal Ann), white figs, and purple plums were carried by two-thirds or more of the stores. Fruits seldom found in the market as fresh products — blueberries, boysen- berries, and red tart cherries — were ob- tainable canned in a large majority of the stores. Frozen fruits were offered far less often that the corresponding canned fruits. Frozen boysenberries, red tart cherries, grapefruit, and pineapple were carried by less than half as many stores as the canned. Only frozen strawberries and red raspberries were available more fre- quently frozen than canned. The differ- ence between availability of frozen and canned strawberries was considerable but that between canned and frozen raspber- ries was small. Dried fruits were much less available than canned fruit. For most products only about two-thirds as many stores had the dried as had the same fruit canned. Prunes and seedless raisins were the only dried fruits generally available — in more than nine tenths of the stores. Seeded rais- ins were offered much less often than the seedless; dried applesauce less often than dried sliced apples. Vegetables Household buyers of the western region could purchase half of the vegetables in- cluded in the survey either as fresh or processed products. They could, for ex- [15] Table 2. Availability of Processed Fruits in the Western Region Per cent of stores in Product which prod- duct was available Canned: 99.4 98.4 Chunks or tidbits 89.5 Grated or crushed 97.0 98.3 97.9 95.6 Sliced 92.4 95.0 93.2 87.6 87.1 79.9 78.3 70.8 68.8 66.8 66.4 48.0 45.7 27.4 Frozen: 86.4 Peaches, sliced 54.2 51.0 43.0 37.2 21.3 7.4 Dried: 97.5 93 9 Apricots, halves 71.2 Raisins, seeded 61.7 Peaches, halves Figs, dark 60.1 47.9 Apples, sliced 45 0 Apples, applesauce Pears, sliced 22.2 18.7 ample, choose fresh green beans in 14 to 60 per cent of the stores depending upon the season, canned in almost all stores, frozen in 91 per cent, and dried in 96 per cent of the stores. Tomatoes were avail- able both fresh and canned in 90 per cent or more of the stores at all seasons. Al- though fresh peas were offered by as many as one-third of the stores during only one month, consumers could choose between canned and frozen peas in more than 90 per cent of the stores any month. Fresh asparagus was found in about 60 to 70 per cent of the stores in two months and in only an occasional store the other months, but consumers could buy canned asparagus in more than 90 per cent and frozen in more than 80 per cent any time. Fresh vegetables. Most widely avail- able were onions, head lettuce, celery, to- matoes, carrots, cabbage, and potatoes — all of these, except potatoes, were offered in 90 per cent or more of the stores, in all six months of the survey. (See table 3.) Least available were some of the leafy green vegetables. All the vegetables of- fered by less than 25 per cent of the stores were leafy greens: mustard greens, salad greens (other than lettuce, endive, and romaine) , chard, turnip greens, and kale. Although these vegetables are important additions to good diets they are appar- ently rather difficult to find in retail stores. All the fresh vegetables in the study were carried by some stores in the region each month. Some showed relatively little variation throughout the year but such vegetables as sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, and corn, varied widely in availability. Most of these were found in one half to three fourths of the stores during the two to four months of their seasonal peaks while in other months they were offered by com- paratively few stores. Salad greens were available in a goodly proportion of the stores in each of the six months. Head and other kinds of lettuce and romaine were found in half or more of the stores while endive was available in from 30 per cent to almost half. In con- trast other greens were low in availabil- ity. Spinach was most common appearing in two to three-fifths of the stores. Al- though mustard greens, chard, and turnip greens were available in some stores in each of the months they were never found in more than one-fifth, and kale was never found in more than 5 per cent. Processed vegetables. A number of vegetables were obtainable throughout [16] Table 3. Availability of Fresh Vegetables in the Western Region Product Per cent of stores in which product was available in May July Sept Nov. Jan. March Group I Available in 90 per cent or more of stores Onions Lettuce, head Celery Tomatoes Carrots Cabbage Potatoes* Group II Available in 35-75 per cent of stores, little seasonal variation Squash Cauliflower Romaine Lettuce other than head Beets Endive Group III Available in less than 25 per cent of stores Mustard greens Salad greens other than lettuce, endive, romaine Chard Turnip greens Kale Group IV Wide seasonal variation Spinach Sweet potatoes Beans, green Broccoli Peas Asparagus Corn-on-cob 97.4 97.5 94.5 94.6 90.3 90.8 91.7 63.0 64.0 62.6 60.4 38.2 35.2 13.0 20.8 13.0 4.1 2.0 58.3 63.0 39.8 34.1 32.4 71.5 70.4 97.0 96.5 92.3 96.8 94.1 90.4 64.4 69.9 55.4 62.9 60.3 46.4 30.5 15.6 14.8 3.7 9.5 4.2 39.4 35.3 59.8 8.8 26.8 7.0 77.8 98.0 96.3 93.9 96.1 93.5 91.2 93.6 74.2 60.4 62.4 50.1 40.5 33.7 15.2 12.4 7.9 8.4 0.9 39.1 71.7 60.4 24.6 11.7 ....1 78.4 97.8 95.3 94.4 95.9 94.1 95.6 98.0 75.8 72.4 55 5 50.7 43.6 39.7 20.6 12.3 7.1 6.0 3.5 58.8 89.2 42.3 54 .2 4.3 0.5 48.6 97.3 95.3 92.8 92.2 96.8 94.6 95.9 67.8 72.0 61.5 58.8 35.1 45.2 20.2 17.0 8.2 6.8 4.8 96.6 97.2 93.5 90.6 94.4 92.6 95.1 59.6 71.2 62.7 58.2 38.8 47.4 20.6 12.6 10.3 10.4 3.9 61.0 73.4 14.0 50.1 21.6 60.7 7.3 * Less than 90 per cent in one month, t Less than 0.1 of 1 per cent. the year both fresh and processed ; others, which were not readily procurable as fresh products, were offered as canned, frozen, or dried. (See table 4.) Canned vegetables that were practically standard items in almost all grocery stores, were green beans, corn, peas, spinach, and tomatoes. Asparagus, beets, sweet potatoes, and lima beans were stocked almost as frequently. Canned vegetables supplemented the supply of fresh ones. About half of those mentioned above were available as fresh products in only 60 per cent or less of the stores at any time, and usually the stores carried them only one or two months. For example, fresh peas were found in only 4 to 32 per cent of the stores, beets in about 35 to 46 per cent, and spinach in about 40 to 60 per cent. Frozen vegetables, generally, were ob- tainable in more stores than frozen fruits. Of the 10 products studied, including mixed vegetables, all except squash were offered by four-fifths or more of the stores. Several — green beans, corn, peas, and mixed vegetables — were found in about nine-tenths of the stores. Frozen vegetables, however, were not as avail- able as their canned counterparts. Aspar- agus, green beans, lima beans, corn, peas, and spinach were surveyed both canned and frozen, and each product was less available as frozen. [17] Table 4. Availability of Processed Vegetables in the Western Region Product Per cent of stores in which prod- duct was available Canned: 99.7 ... 79.3 Whole ... 79.5 99.6 98.9 98.1 97.5 94.9 92.7 92.4 91.4 77.8 69.7 Frozen: 92.6 92.3 90.6 ... 78.2 90.5 86.4 ... 77.3 86.1 ... 62.9 84.0 83.1 80.1 Leaf Potatoes, patties ... 78.3 66.8 56.9 Dried: 95.6 95.6 91.7 89.9 87.4 Potatoes, instant 71.0 Beans, Pink 63.4 40.5 Dried vegetables studied included beans, split peas, and potatoes. Buyers could choose from white, pinto, red kid- ney, and lima beans in almost nine-tenths of the stores. Split peas were found in 90 per cent, and instant potatoes in more than 70 per cent of the stores. Processed juices Canned and frozen juices were con- sidered separately from other processed fruits and vegetables since they are used differently in family meal planning. (See table 5.) Five of the seven canned juices sur- veyed were available in nine-tenths or more of the stores in the region. These were grape, grapefruit, orange, tomato, and mixed vegetable juices. The other two — canned apple juice and orange- and-grapefruit juice were carried by at least eight-tenths of the stores. Two frozen juices — orange juice and lemonade — were offered by at least 90 per cent of the stores, frozen grape juice by more than 80 per cent, and frozen grapefruit and pineapple juices by about 60 per cent of the stores. Canned and frozen orange juices were found about equally often, but frozen grape juice was somewhat less available than canned. Frozen grapefruit juice was obtainable in less than two-thirds as many stores as the canned. The general availability of the proc- essed citrus juices and the corresponding fresh fruits was noted. More than nine- tenths of the stores carried fresh oranges and both canned and frozen juices in all the months studied; and also fresh lem- ons as well as frozen lemonade. More than four-fifths of the stores sold fresh grapefruit, even more had canned juice, and three-fifths had frozen juice. Table 5. Availability of Processed Juices in the Western Region Product Canned: Tomato juice Grapefruit juice Orange juice Vegetable juice, mixed Grape juice Orange-and-grapefruit juice Apple juice Frozen: Orange juice Lemonade Grape juice Grapefruit juice Pineapple juice Per cent of stores in which prod- duct was available 98.7 97.6 95.9 91.5 90.3 84.8 83.9 95.1 91.0 80.6 61.2 59.1 [18] Varieties of selected fresh products The number of varieties and the spe- cific varieties of fresh fruits and vege- tables available in the retail market in- fluence consumer choices among differ- ent kinds of fresh products and between fresh and processed products. Which varieties of fresh products are available in stores at different times of the year depends on such factors as the characteristics of the products; on whether and how long they can be stored ; and on the harvesting seasons. The effect of these factors on the varieties available was illustrated by the products selected for study. Number of varieties. More stores carried more varieties of apples than the other three fruits studied — peaches, plums, and melons other than canta- loupes and watermelons. A large ma- jority of the stores carrying apples of- fered two or more varieties September through March, the months when most varieties are harvested and stored. Some stores had as many as seven varieties during these months. (See table 6.) On the other hand, a large majority of the stores carrying peaches and plums, offered only one variety during July and September — the only months studied when these fruits were generally avail- able. In July three-fourths of the stores carrying melons offered only one variety, but in September when large quantities are marketed, almost three-fourths of the stores had two or more varieties, and half had three or more. Although squash was less available than the other two vegetables studied — onions and potatoes — those stores which carried squash had more varieties than either of the other vegetables. From about three- to four-fifths had two or more varieties depending upon the sea- son. One-fourth or more of the stores offered four or more varieties in Septem- ber and November when squash is most abundant. Onions were available each of the six months studied in almost all stores but the majority had only one or two varie- ties. However, almost one-fifth or more carried three or more varieties each month and nearly half had four or more varieties in July. Potatoes, like onions, are among the less perishable vegetables, but fewer va- rieties were available than of either onions or squash. The majority of the stores had only one variety and very few carried as many as three varieties. Specific varieties.7 Consumers could choose apples from the largest number of varieties in January and March when four varieties — Delicious, Wine- saps, Newtown-Pippins, and Romes or Roman Beauties — were for sale in half or more of the stores carrying apples. Stores no doubt offer more varieties of apples during these months because they are "storable" and because the more sea- sonal fresh fruits are not available. (See table 7.) Varieties of apples available in 50 per cent or more of stores with apples January: Red Delicious, Winesaps, Romes or Roman Beauties, Newtown- Pippins March: Red Delicious, Winesaps, Romes or Roman Beauties, Newtown- Pippins May: Winesaps July: Winesaps September: Red Delicious, Jonathans November: Red Delicious, Romes or Roman Beauties Delicious apples far outnumbered other varieties in availability. Red De- licious were available in more than 90 per cent of the stores with apples in No- vember, January, and March, and in two- 7 Allowance should be made in the following discussion for possible inaccuracies in data arising from the labeling of varieties. Although there was no way to determine the extent of such inaccuracies they no doubt occurred since consumers and store employees are sometimes not sufficiently familiar with the characteristics of different varieties to detect inaccuracies. 19] Table 6. Number of Varieties of Selected Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Available in the Western Region Product and month Avail- ability of product in all stores Number of varieties in stores carrying product One Two Three Four Five or more Range Mean Fruits: Apples, bulk May July September November January March Melons other than cantaloupes and watermelons May July September November Peaches May July September Plums May July September November Vegetables: Onions, dry May July September November January March Potatoes, white, mature, bulk May July September November January March Squash May July September November January March per cent 91.8 74.9 94.4 97.5 94.9 95.2 111 33.1 51.2 12.4 8.7 85.7 83.5 0 4 72.2 57.0 97.4 97.0 98.0 97.8 97.3 84.5 59.9 87.8 94.6 90.2 90.6 63.0 69.9 74.2 75.8 67.8 59.6 per cent 40.2 56.9 22.5 15.4 14.8 18.1 61.8 74.5 26.5 88.4 100.0 68.8 85.6 100.0 71.1 61.4 100.0 36.1 21.8 26.4 30.6 30.6 44.6 77.3 56.7 68.7 54.4 65.5 64.4 29.7 28.6 21.5 26.5 32.1 39.3 per cent 39.4 38.9 38.7 21.9 24 0 24 4 25.2 23.2 23.0 11.6 26.1 14.4 21.0 25.3 40.0 31.0 41.2 39.3 33.3 36.1 18.2 36.7 24.5 42.7 31.4 31.8 27.9 45.4 26.2 18.5 33.4 38.1 per cent 18.8 4.2 19.8 19.0 19.9 18.6 13.0 1.9 35.7 4.8 4.4 7.5 18.7 40.4 29.0 24 1 31.2 17 7 4.5 6.6 6.8 2.7 3.1 3.8 26.3 14.1 28.4 27.3 19.0 16.0 per cent 1.4 13.9 20.2 14.3 25.0 0.4 13.5 0.3 3.2 5.8 5.2 6.8 3.4 6.0 4.9 1.6 0 2 14.8 11.0 15.9 16.5 11.0 per cent 0.2 5 1 23.5 27 0 13.9 I 3 0.3 1.3 0.9 8.0 11.2 4.5 1.0 1-5 1-3 1-7 1-7 1-7 1-7 1-3 1-4 1-6 1-2 1 1-4 1-3 1 1-7 1-4 1 1-4 1-4 1-4 1-4 1-4 1-4 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-4 1-3 1-3 1-6 1-6 1-6 1-6 1-7 1-6 1.6 1.4 2.2 2.9 2.7 2.6 1.3 14 2.2 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.2 10 1.3 2.7 10 1.8 2.0 1.6 1.9 1.9 1.7 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.3 12 1.2 2.0 2.1 2.6 2.4 2.0 1.7 * Less than 0.1 of 1 per cent. thirds of the stores in September. Wine- saps were also frequently available — in 80 per cent of the stores in May, in 50 to 60 per cent in January, March and July. Jonathans were found in about half the stores in September and November. The various Newtowns and Pippins, which were grouped and designated as New- town-Pippins, were offered by half to two-thirds of the stores in January and March. Since grapefruit are for the most part identified in retail stores as "pink" and "white" the availability of each was studied as a "variety." The white in bulk were found considerably more often [20] Table 7. Availability of Specific Varieties of Selected Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in the Western Region Product Fruits: Apples, bulk Delicious, red Delicious, golden Gravenstein Jonathan Mcintosh Newtown, Pippin, etc Rome, Red Rome, Roman Beauty Winesap Grapefruit, bulk* Pink White Oranges, bulk Navel Valencia Vegetables: Onions* Red Yellow White Potatoes, white or Irish, mature, bulk Russet, Burbank, Netted Gemf White Rose, Long White Squash Acorn, Table Queen, Danish Banana Hubbard Marblehead, Butternut Scalloped, Pattypan, Cymling, Summer Green, Summer White Straightneck, Crookneck, Longneck, Goose- neck, Yellowneck Zucchini, Italian, Cocazelle Sweet Potatoes Light Yellow* "Yams" Per cent of stores in which product was available in May 42.3 0.3 0.6 0.3 5.4 1.8 80.0 56.6 83.7 91.9 29.9 29.1 65.9 47.9 60.4 18.9 18.4 8.7 4.6 1.1 26.7 12.0 55.1 87.7 July 11.7 0.1 5.1 2 0 1.3 19.2 0.4 55.4 38.1 85.5 22.9 50.7 96.4 56.7 49.2 66.1 27.2 4.8 1.2 0.8 56.1 19.2 84.4 25.3 90.1 Sept. 67.3 6.4 29.8 56.2 20.1 13.7 0.8 0.7 29.2 91.0 7.9 96.0 36.7 96.6 54.8 69.5 30.2 45.9 18.5 11.0 6.3 45.9 35 0 45.9 37.3 91.9 Nov 94.8 28.4 0.4 47.7 17.7 44.7 52.0 12.7 59.5 75.5 48.0 76.7 27.3 97.1 54.0 65.5 38.2 62.1 40.9 28.4 15.8 41.2 17.4 60.2 64.3 87.3 Jan. 96.1 28.2 4.8 9.3 65.7 54.8 49.6 63.5 85.7 96.3 17.4 32.8 97.4 57.1 42.5 34.5 27.4 10.2 13.7 2.4 42.8 53.6 84.5 March 96.8 15.7 1.7 5.9 51 4 50 8 64.4 97.3 22.0 25.2 94.7 37.8 37.3 31.6 5.1 33.5 14 73.6 56 4 84.8 * "Variety" as used here refers to color lieu of named varieties. t The potatoes in this group were designated by many other names, such Russet Burbank, Golden Russet, Rural Russet, Sebago. California Russet, Idaho Russet, than the pink in bulk in each of the months surveyed. The greatest difference occurred in September when more than 90 per cent of the stores carrying grape- fruit offered the white and not quite 30 per cent the pink. The time of the least difference was November when 75 per cent of the stores carried white and 60 per cent pink grapefruit. Availability of navel and Valencia oranges corresponded closely to their harvest seasons. In January, March, and May more than 90 per cent of the stores offered Navels and less than 30 per cent Valencias. In July, September, and No- vember about three-fourths or more of the stores carried Valencias but only about one-fifth or less had Navels in July and September, and less than half in November. Mature, white potatoes, described as Russet, Burbank, Netted Gem and by- other names, were available in all months studied except July in 60 to 70 per cent of the stores carrying potatoes, while the White Rose, also called Long White, was [21 carried by less than 20 to about 40 per cent. In July the situation was reversed: two-thirds of the stores offered the White Rose and only half the Russet. These differences are accounted for by the fact that Russets are harvested in the fall and stored during the ensuing months while the White Rose is harvested earlier and less frequently stored. These two varieties of potatoes were the only major varieties found in the stores. McClures, Shafter, Red Bliss, and others were sometimes offered but usually in less than 5 per cent of the stores. As in the case of white potatoes the availability of sweet potatoes and onions was related to their harvest seasons and ability to be stored. Two types of sweet potatoes were studied rather than specific varieties — the dry type designated here as "light yellow," and the moist, sweeter type erroneously called "yams" in the retail market. "Yams" were carried by 85 per cent or more of the stores and the light yellow by one-fourth to two-thirds of the stores during the months studied. Differences were largest in May through September when proportions of stores with "yams" were highest and those with the light yellow were lowest. Yellow onions were carried more fre- quently than the red or white — by prac- tically all the stores July through March, and by two-thirds in May. The white onions were offered in about two to three- fifths of the stores each month, and the red in one-fourth to one-half. The different varieties of summer and winter squash were combined into three groups of the former and four of the lat- ter. Zucchini or Italian squash was the most highly available of all the varieties. Although usually called a "summer" squash, it was offered 43 to 84 per cent of the stores carrying squash in each of the six months studied. Since the supply of squash is seasonal, each of the other varieties was offered in significant pro- portions of the stores during only two or three months. VARIETY MONTHS MOST PER CENT OF FREQUENTLY OF SQUASH AVAILABLE STORES Acorn, etc Sept., Nov., Jan. 42-62 Banana and Hubbard Nov., Jan., Mar. 27-41 Scalloped, etc. . . July, Sept., Nov. 41-56 "Neck" varieties . July, Sept. 19-35 Unspecified varieties. The proportions of stores in which the different products studied were not specified by variety de- serves attention. These proportions were particularly high for apples and white potatoes. In each month one-third or more of the stores did not describe pota- toes by variety; in July, when potatoes were least available, the proportion reached 40 per cent. As for apples, 31 per cent of the stores did not specify va- rieties in July, and a lesser percentage in the other months. Selected fresh products prepackaged and in bulk A number of fresh fruits and vege- tables reach retail stores packaged in containers of sizes and types suitable for purchase by consumers. This practice is commonly referred to as "consumer packaging." The question is sometimes raised as to whether this practice of prepackaging brings advantages to the consumer. Several factors must be considered, such as convenience, time saved in selecting the product, relative quality and cost of the products offered, and ability of the consumer to secure the variety, size, or quantity he desires. For products marketed both prepack- aged and in bulk (loose in bins or boxes) the question arises as to whether retail stores give consumers an opportunity to choose between them. If such opportunity to choose is not offered, or if the pre- ferred form is not available, consumers may buy another kind of product or the desired product in one of the processed forms. Therefore, the relative availability and prices of prepackaged and bulk prod- 22 Table 8. Availability of Selected Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Prepackaged and in Bulk in the Western Region Product and month Per cent of all stores Bulk' Prepackaged! Per cent of stores carrying product Both bulk and prepackaged Bulk only Prepackaged only Fruits: Apples May July September November January , March Grapefruit, pink and/or white May July September November January March Oranges, navels and/or Valencias May , July September November January March Vegetables: Celery, green and/or white May July September November January March Potatoes, white, mature May July September November January March Spinach May July September November January March Tomatoes May July September November January March 91.8 74.9 94.4 97.5 94.9 95.2 79.4 81.3 95.5 94.3 96.2 96.2 95.2 94.5 81.0 81.1 83.0 83.7 82.2 82.2 84.5 59.9 87.8 94.6 90.2 93.6 27.1 19.0 17.9 26.3 27.2 32.7 88.7 96.4 94.4 92.4 72.3 74.3 6.5 0.7 10 2 21.9 23.1 21.4 28.0 8.0 1.2 17.1 37.8 38.9 29.1 29.1 17.1 17.4 29.2 21.2 61.9 58.2 52.1 54.3 56.5 61.4 48.7 23.4 41.7 53.4 62.9 58.7 39.0 25.2 26.1 41.0 43.7 43.4 31.9 15.9 15.6 19.1 41.8 38.2 7.1 0.5 10.8 22.4 24.1 22.4 29.3 8.4 1.4 18.7 40.0 42.2 30.1 29.7 17.2 17.4 28.5 22.1 51.2 50.9 43.9 46.1 49.4 53.5 45.3 29.5 38.5 51.0 59.7 57.0 13.5 12.3 12.5 14.4 16.3 24.8 27.5 15.9 14.5 16.2 23.7 24.2 92.9 99.1 89.2 77.5 75.7 77.5 68.5 90.0 98.5 80.8 59.0 57.0 69.6 69.4 82.3 82.0 69.8 77.6 34.5 36.9 44.5 42.5 39.1 34.4 46.9 63.6 55.4 45.5 34.4 38.3 33.0 36.1 33.2 30.4 28.3 28.8 66.3 83.6 83.8 80.1 54.7 57.8 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.1 2.2 1.6 0.1 0.5 1.0 0.8 0.3 0.9 0.5 0.6 1.7 0.3 14.3 12.2 11.6 11.4 11.5 12.1 7.8 6.9 6.1 3.5 5.9 4.7 53.5 51.6 54.3 55.2 55.4 46.4 6.2 0.5 1.7 3.7 21.6 18.0 * Alone or with prepackaged. t Alone or with bulk. ucts in retail stores is pertinent in this study. Of the three fruits and four vegetables studied, all except spinach were offered by the stores in the region more consist- ently in bulk than prepackaged. Spinach T23] was the only prepackaged product which was carried each month by more stores than was the bulk. With this exception, stores carrying the products offered them in bulk alone much more often than in both bulk and prepackaged, while very few stores offered products prepackaged but not in bulk. (See table 8.) Except for apples in July, bulk oranges and apples were found in 90 per cent or more of the stores and bulk grapefruit in about 80 per cent or more. On the other hand, these fruits were available prepackaged in 1 to 39 per cent of the stores. Consumers could choose between pre- packaged and bulk grapefruit in less than about 40 per cent of the stores, oranges in less than 30 per cent, and apples in less than 25 per cent. Much the same situation existed for the vegetables studied. Celery, potatoes, and tomatoes were available in larger proportions of the stores in the region in bulk than in consumer packages. Stores which carried these vegetables offered them in bulk but not prepackaged much more often than prepackaged but not in bulk. Consumers could choose between bulk and prepackaged tomatoes in 14 to 28 per cent of the stores each month, between bulk and prepackaged celery in 44 to 54 per cent, and potatoes in 30 to 60 per cent of the stores, depending upon the season. As indicated before, spinach was avail- able in more stores prepackaged than in bulk. In about half the stores carrying spinach, the product was offered pre- packaged but not in bulk, while roughly one-third of the stores offered bulk but not prepackaged. Both prepackaged and bulk were carried by less than one-fourth of the stores in any month. AVAILABILITY BY TYPES OF STORES Availability of the fruits and vegeta- bles studied varied widely in the stores throughout the region as well as within individual counties. Since much of the variation can be attributed to the char- acteristics of the stores, stores were clas- sified by type based on size, organization, and location, with two or more groups in each classification.8 Data on avail- ability by three types of stores are avail- able in a supplement. (See Appendix B.) < Size of stores Consumers had a considerably wider choice of fruits and vegetables in the larger than in the smaller stores. Stores were grouped into four sizes based on the number of employees. More products were available in the larger stores, and each product was carried by a larger pro- portion of the larger stores at all seasons. The smallest stores for the most part limited their supplies to the less perish- able of the fresh products; largest stores carried more of the perishable products, and also carried seasonal fruits and vege- tables for longer periods than the smallest. The smallest stores tended to limit their supplies to relatively few kinds each of canned, frozen, and dried products, and to carry only one form or variety of a given kind of product. High propor- tions of the largest stores carried several varieties and forms. Fresh fruits. The summary below shows that only three or four of the fresh fruit studied were available in 75 per cent or more of the smallest stores (1-2 em- ployees) but that from five to 11 fruits were available in the largest stores (15 or more employees) . The differences were most pronounced in July and Sep- tember. NUMBER OF FRESH FRUITS NUMBER OF AVAILABLE IN 75 PER CENT OR EMPLOYEES MORE 0F STORES May July Sept. Nov. Jan. Mar. 1-2 434444 3-6 5 7 7 5 5 5 7-14 5 9 8 6 5 5 15 or more 7 10 11 6 6 5 8 See p. 10 for bases of these classifications. [24 Bananas, lemons, and oranges were carried by three-fourths of the smallest stores each month. Apples were also available in all months except July. In addition, grapefruit were carried every month and cantaloupes and peaches in July and September by stores with 3 to 6 employees. Three-fourths of the stores of the next larger size, that is those with 7 to 14 em- ployees, carried the same products as those with 3 to 6 employees and also had pears and watermelons in one or two months. The largest stores offered all these fruits and also cantaloupes, straw- berries, apricots, plums, and other kinds of melons at least in one month. The proportions of stores which car- ried specific fruits increased as size of store increased. For example, in July when apples were least available, they were carried by 52 per cent of the small- est and by 96 per cent of the largest stores. In September, when apples were most available, they were found in 95 per cent of the smallest stores and in 100 per cent of the largest stores. PERCENTAGE AVAILABILITY OF THREE FRESH FRUITS IN HIGHEST NUMBER OF AND LOWEST MONTHS EMPLOYEES APPLES GRAPEFRUIT PEARS July Nov. Sept. Jan. July Sept. 1-2 52 95 49 74 2 33 3-6 75 98 79 92 9 56 7-14 86 100 94 97 15 86 15 or more 96 100 99 100 23 99 In July when the largest number of fresh fruits were on the market, the larg- est stores carried all 18 kinds of fruits studied, 10 of which were found in 75 per cent or more of the stores and the remaining 8 in over one-fifth of the stores. In the same month the smallest stores carried 17 of the fruits but only three were found in 75 per cent of the stores and eight, or nearly half, were for sale in less than one-fifth of the stores. Differences in the availability of the more seasonal fruits is illustrated by strawberries which were found in all six T 25 months in at least some of the largest stores although for three months in small proportions. They were offered by the smallest stores during four months only, but three of them by less than 10 per cent of the stores. Similar situations existed for all kinds of melons and for other kinds of berries. The tendency of the larger stores to carry more "varieties" of specific kinds of fresh fruits than the smaller stores was well illustrated by the relative availability of pink and white grapefruit, navel and Valencia oranges, and the different melons. Processed fruits. All processed fruits surveyed were offered by stores of all sizes, but the extent of the offerings varied greatly with size. Without excep- tion, availability increased as size of store increased. Ten of the 14 canned products studied were carried by 90 per cent or more of the largest stores. Six were carried by about half or less of the smallest ones. PERCENTAGE AVAILABILITY OF EIGHT PROCESSED FRUITS PRODUCT CANNED FROZEN DRIED 1-2 15+ 1-2 15+ 1-2 15+ EMPLOYEES Applesauce 93 100 — — 10 49 Apricots 86 99 — — 34 97 Figs 45 97 — — 14 85 Grapefruit sections .79 99 5 56 — — Peaches, cling 86 100 19 81 30 94 Pears 93 100 — — 4 33 Pineapple chunks . . 60 100 — — — — Strawberries 18 74 75 98 Of the seven kinds of frozen fruits sur- veyed, only strawberries were found in more than one-third of the smallest stores. Practically all the largest stores carried them. Frozen sliced peaches, pineapple chunks, and red raspberries were offered by 15 to 32 per cent of the smallest stores and by about 70 to 80 per cent of the largest. One-third or more of the largest stores offered all the nine dried fruit products in the study. More than three-fourths of- fered seven ; three-fourths of the smallest stores had only two. Prunes and seedless raisins were found in practically all the largest and in more than 80 per cent of the smallest stores. The availability of different varieties and forms of processed fruits increased as size of store increased. Examples were canned red tart, dark sweet and Royal Ann cherries, cling and Freestone peaches, grapefruit in sections and broken pieces, pineapple as chunks or tidbits and as grated or crushed, and seedless and seeded raisins. Fresh vegetables. The number of fresh vegetables available in the largest stores was two to three times the number in the smallest stores each month. Only four to six products were carried by the smallest stores while from 11 to 15 were carried by the largest ones. NUMBER OF FRESH VEGETABLES NUMBER OF AVAILABLE IN 75 PER CENT OR EMPLOYEES MORE OF STORES May July Sept . Nov . Jan. Mar. 1-2 .. 5 4 6 6 4 5 3-6 .. 6 5 6 7 7 6 7-14 . . 10 8 11 10 10 9 15 or more . . . . 16 11 13 14 14 15 Head lettuce and onions were the only vegetables which were available in three-fourths or more of the smallest stores in each of the six months surveyed. Carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and tomatoes were offered during four or five months — all of them in September and Novem- ber. The next larger size (3 to 6 employ- ees) carried all six vegetables which were for sale in the smallest stores, and also sweet potatoes in November and January. Stores with 7 to 14 employees carried the six "staple" vegetables, supplemented by sweet potatoes, celery, cauliflower, squash, and corn during one or more months. Nine vegetables were carried by three- fourths or more of the largest stores all six months. These were cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, head lettuce, onions, squash, romaine, and tomatoes. Three- fourths of the largest stores also offered sweet potatoes and white potatoes five months, corn and spinach four months, endive and broccoli three, asparagus and beans two, and lettuce other than head lettuce in one month. The proportions of stores carrying each of the fresh vegetables surveyed increased consistently as size of store increased. This was true for those, such as beets, green beans, endive, and broccoli which were carried by small proportions of the smallest stores as well as for those carried by quite large proportions, such as head lettuce, tomatoes, and others. PRODUCT RANGE IN PERCENTAGE AVAIL- ABILITY DURING SIX MONTHS 1-2 3-6 7-14 15 or employees | more Beets 3-7 12-19 29-35 47-70 Beans, green 1-13 2-33 5-66 15-82 Cabbage 70-84 89-95 95-97 96-99 Carrots 63-90 92-99 97-100 98-100 Cauliflower 13-36 42-66 65-89 92-99 Celery 38-45 58-73 88-96 93-100 Endive 1-4 8-26 33-63 56-80 Head lettuce .... 91-95 97-98 97-99 99-100 Potatoes, white . . 45-95 46-98 52-99 57-100 Squash 12-30 32-65 65-90 88-100 Tomatoes 69-92 93-97 95-99 97-100 There were a number of other examples of the wider choices which are available to consumers in buying specific fresh vegetables in the larger stores. Availabil- ity of green and of white asparagus and celery and of bunched and topped beets and carrots indicate that consumers' op- portunities for choice among these prod- ucts increased as size of stores increased. More than 90 per cent of both large and small stores offered head lettuce in all months. However, only 15 per cent of the smallest stores but 65 to 85 per cent of the largest stores offered other kinds of lettuce. Processed vegetables. All processed vegetables were available to some extent even in the smallest stores; just as fruits and fresh vegetables, their availability in- creased with size of store. Each of the canned vegetables studied was offered by at least 97 per cent of the [26] largest stores. Green beans, corn, peas, sweet potatoes, and spinach were found in all the largest stores. Green beans, corn, peas, spinach, and tomatoes were gener- ally offered by the smallest stores. PERCENTAGE AVAILABILITY OF NINE PROCESSED VEGETABLES PRODUCT CANNED FROZEN DRIED 1-2 15+ 1-2 15+ 1-2 15+ EMPLOYEES Asparagus 82 100 57 97 — — Beans, white — — — — 83 99 Beans, green, Fr. cut 45 97 37 95 — — Corn 96 100 76 98 — — Lima beans 66 98 56 98 86 100 Peas 98 100 82 99 74 100 Potato, instant — — — — 53 92 Potato, Fr. fried ... — — 61 97 — — Spinach 95 100 53 93 — — Although none of the ten kinds of fro- zen vegetables included in the study was carried by less than about 85 per cent of the largest stores, six were found in only one- to two-thirds of the smallest stores. Asparagus, green beans, lima beans, broc- coli spears, corn, peas, French fried po- tatoes, spinach, and mixed vegetables were available in 93 to 99 per cent of the largest stores. In contrast, only green beans, corn, and peas were carried by as many as three-fourths of the smallest stores. Nine-tenths or more of the largest stores carried dried split peas, instant po- tatoes, and a wide array of different varie- ties of beans. About 50 to 85 per cent of the smallest stores also stocked these dried vegetables. As in the case of fruits, the smaller stores did not offer as many choices as the larger ones in varieties and forms of the processed vegetables. Processed juices. Canned and frozen fruit and vegetable juices were generally available in the largest stores. All seven of the canned, and three of the five frozen juices surveyed, were carried by at least 97 per cent of these stores and the two other frozen juices by at least four-fifths of them. [27 Only canned grapefruit, orange, and tomato juices were carried by 90 per cent or more of the smallest stores. Frozen or- ange juice was found in 86 per cent of these stores; the availability of the others ranged from 23 per cent (frozen grape- fruit) to 78 per cent (mixed vegetable juice and grape juice) . Organization of stores Availability of fruits and vegetables, both fresh and processed, was related to the organization of stores. The products studied were more often available in the multi-unit than in the single-unit stores and more often in the single-unit stores which were affiliated with other such stores than in those which were not so affiliated. On the whole, the availability of products in the affiliated single-unit stores tended to be more like that of the multi-unit stores than that of the unaffili- ated single-unit stores. Fresh fruits. The number of fresh fruits available in three-fourths or more of the multi-unit stores ranged from five to nine; that in single-unit stores from four to six. The greatest difference oc- curred in September. Both groups car- ried the same number of fruits in March and May. NUMBER OF FRESH FRUITS AVAIL- ORCANIZATION ABLE IN 75 PER CENT OR MORE OF OF STORE STORES May July Sept. Nov. Jan. Mar. Multi-unit ... 5 9 9 6 6 5 Single-unit All 5 6 4 5 5 5 Unaffiliated 5 3 4 5 5 5 Affiliated ..5 8 7 5 5 5 Single-unit stores offered bananas, lemons, and oranges in more than 90 per cent of the stores surveyed each month. Apples and grapefruit were carried by three-fourths or more of the stores in five months, and cantaloupes and peaches one month. Multi-unit stores had apples, bananas, lemons, oranges, and grapefruit in 90 to 100 per cent of the stores in each of the six months surveyed; cantaloupes and peaches two months ; and plums and pears one month. Three-fourths or more of these stores also had pears, plums, and watermelons one to three months. Less than 75 per cent of both multi-unit and single-unit stores offered blueberries, boysenberries, dark sweet cherries, limes, melons other than cantaloupes and water- melons, raspberries, and strawberries in one or more months. However, the pro- portions of these fruits carried by multi- unit stores were for the most part higher than the proportions carried by the single- unit stores. RANGE IN PERCENTAGE AVAIL- ABILITY DURING SIX MONTHS PRODUCT MULTI- SINGLE-UNITS UNITS ALL UNAFF. AFF. Apples 90-98 70-97 62-96 81-100 Bananas 95-98 94-97 90-97 96-99 Cantaloupes* . . 65-96 33-81 28-72 39-92 Grapefruit .... 92-98 73-87 67-81 82-95 Oranges 97-100 95-97 91-96 98-99 Pears 20-92 8-61 5-51 12-64 Strawberries..* 12-73 9-49 7-41 12-59 * May, July, and September only. The number of fresh fruits available in significant proportions and the percent- ages of stores with individual products were, in general, higher in the affiliated than in the unaffiliated single-unit stores. In addition to apples, bananas, lemons, oranges, and grapefruit, 75 per cent or more of the affiliated stores carried can- taloupes, peaches, and watermelons in July, cantaloupes and peaches in Septem- ber. In contrast, the unaffiliated stores of- fered only bananas, lemons, and oranges in July and, in addition, apples in Sep- tember. A considerable number of the other fruits studied was carried by less than three-fourths of both affiliated and unaf- filiated stores but, with few exceptions, the proportions available in affiliated stores were larger than in the unaffiliated ones. For example, in July, apricots were carried by 52 per cent of the affiliated and 40 per cent of the unaffiliated stores; [ the respective proportions for plums were 68 per cent and 49 per cent. Processed fruits. Availability of processed fruits also was higher in the multi-unit stores than in the single-unit ones and higher in the affiliated than in the unaffiliated single-unit stores. Differences in availability of six canned products — applesauce, apricots, fruit cocktail, peaches, pears, and pine- apple— were small since all of them were carried by 90 per cent or more of both multi-unit and single-unit stores. How- ever, the proportions were slightly higher in the multi-unit stores. Differences were larger for the less commonly available products such as figs which were carried by 92 per cent of the multi-unit and l>\ 67 per cent of the single-unit store-. PERCENTAGE AVAILABILITY OF SEVEN PROCESSED FRUITS PRODUCT CANNED FROZEN DRIED MLT. SGL. MLT. SGL. MLT. SCL. UN. UN. UN. UN. UN. I V Applesauce ..97 97 40 23 Apricots 98 93 89 59 Boysenberries. 74 57 15 11 — — Peaches 99 93 73 41 86 51 Pears 99 98 20 12 Pineapple, ch. 97 79 60 35 — Strawberries.. 60 42 94 85 Proportions of all the canned fruits available in the affiliated stores were larger than those in the unaffiliated single- unit stores. Differences were, however, small for the six products which were carried by 90 per cent or more of all single-unit stores. Larger differences ex- isted for other products such as plums which were carried by 84 per cent of the affiliated and by 67 per cent of the unaf- filiated stores. Frozen and dried fruits too, were more available in the affiliated than in the unaf- filiated single-unit stores. Differences were largest for frozen peaches, pineap- ple, grapefruit chunks, and for dried sliced apples, apricots, peaches and figs. Fresh vegetables. Without exception the availability of each fresh vegetable 28] surveyed was higher in multi-unit than in single-unit stores. The number of fresh vegetables carried by 75 per cent or more of the multi-unit stores was twice the number carried by the single-units in January, March, and May. ORGANIZA- TION OF STORE NUMBER OF FRESH VEGETABLES AVAILABLE IN 75 PER CENT OR MORE OF STORES MAY JULY SEPT. NOV. JAN. MAR. Multi-unit .... 12 9 11 10 12 13 Single-unit : All 6 5 6 7 6 6 Unaffiliated .65 6 6 6 6 Affiliated ... 7 7 8 10 8 7 Five kinds of fresh vegetables — cab- bage, carrots, head lettuce, onions, and tomatoes — were carried by three-fourths or more of the single-unit stores each month. White potatoes were carried by this proportion of stores in five months and sweet potatoes in one month. In contrast, 75 per cent or more of the multi-unit stores carried not only the five kinds carried by the single-unit stores but also offered cauliflower, celery, and squash each month, and white potatoes in all months except July. Corn, aspara- gus, broccoli, spinach, and romaine were available one to three months. PRODUCT RANGE IN PERCENTAGE AVAILABILITY DURING SIX MONTHS MULTI- SINGLE-UNITS UNITS ALL UNAFF. AFF. Beets 36-54 16-24 11-17 20-40 Carrots .... 97-98 91-97 87-96 89-100 Cauliflower. 77-93 40-60 33-48 48-75 Head lettuce 97-99 96-97 93-95 98-100 Peas 4-43 2-14 1-10 4-18 Potatoes, wh. 54-99 48-98 49-97 46-98 Spinach ... 40-77 14-44 9-32 20-58 Squash .... 77-90 34-59 26-47 45-75 Differences in number of fresh vege- tables available in three-fourths of the affiliated and unaffiliated single-unit stores were not as large as between multi- unit and single-unit stores. Cabbage, carrots, head lettuce, onions, and tomatoes were available in 75 per cent or more of the unaffiliated stores in all months and white potatoes in all months except July. In addition to these vegetables, the affiliated stores carried corn, sweet potatoes, squash, and cauli- flower one or two months, and celery every month. Multi-unit stores had both topped and bunched beets and carrots and green and white celery more often than the single- unit stores. The former also had larger proportions of similar vegetables such as lettuce and other salad greens and other greens such as spinach and mustard and turnip greens. These vegetables were also more available in the affiliated than in the unaffiliated single-unit stores. Processed vegetables. Differences in availability of processed vegetables in multi-unit and single-unit stores were on the whole not as pronounced as those of fresh vegetables. Four-fifths of the ten canned vegetables studied were carried by 90 per cent or more of both multi-unit and single-unit stores. Five with very high availability, 98 per cent or more, were carried by prac- tically the same proportions of each group. These were green beans, corn, peas, tomatoes, and spinach. PERCENTAGE AVAILABILITY OF NINE PROCESSED VEGETABLES PRODUCT CANNED FROZEN DRIED MLT. SGL. MLT. SGL. MLT. SGL. UN. UN. UN. UN. UN. UN. Asparagus ... 97 91 89 77 Beans, white.. — — — — 98 90 Beans, green, French cut .88 70 84 61 — — Corn 99 99 96 84 Lima beans . . 96 80 85 65 98 94 Peas 99 99 96 90 97 85 Potato, instant — — — — 87 70 French fried - 92 76 Spinach 98 98 84 67 — Six of the frozen vegetables were car- ried by 90 per cent or more of the multi- unit stores. Of these only peas were found in 90 per cent or more of the single-unit stores. Availability of others ranged from about 75 to 85 per cent of these stores. [29] Two dried vegetables — lima and white Location of stores 4 beans — were carried by 90 per cent of Fruits and vegetables were more the stores of each group but in larger pro- readily available in urban than in rural portions of the multi-unit stores. The st0res. This was indicated by the larger 4 availability of other dried vegetables in number of products carried by a large multi-unit stores ranged from 46 to 97 majority of urban stores and by the per cent and in single-unit stores from higher proportions of these stores which 24 to 85 per cent. carried specific products. The differences f ' Offerings of all the processed vegeta- were somewhat more pronounced for 4 bles were larger in affiliated than unaffili- vegetables than for fruits, especially for ated single-unit stores. While the propor- fresb products. Differences were, more- tions were much the same for canned over^ not as great as wnen stores were green beans, corn, peas, spinach, and to- classified by size or organization, matoes, they differed much more for the Fresh fruits. The proportions of «> other canned vegetables. urban stores which carried each of the Differences in availability of frozen fresn fruits studied were, with some ex- vegetables and dried vegetables in affili- ceptions, higher in the urban than in the ated and unaffiliated stores were larger rural stores. for most products than differences in Tbe major differences in the number canned vegetables. Frozen peas and dried 0f fruits in 75 per cent or more 0f tne lima beans were the most frequently of- stores in eacn group were in jujy an(j « fered products in affiliated and unaffili- September. In July, eight fruits were ob- ated stores. tainable in this proportion of urban stores More varieties and forms of processed and four in rurai stores> In September < vegetables were found in multi-unit than tne respective numbers were seven and in single-unit stores. Likewise the selec- four. In a\\ other months five fruits were tion was larger in the affiliated than in foimd in both urban and rural stores the unamliated stores. Apples, bananas, lemons, oranges, and Processed juices. All the processed grapefruit were carried by three-fourths 1 juices studied were more frequently avail- or more of both rural and urban storeg able in the multi-unit than in the single- from November through May. In July unit stores and more frequently in affili- this prop0rtion of rural stores had only ated than they were in unaffiliated single- bananas, lemons, oranges, and canta- unit stores. loupes while the urban stores also carried Nine or more of every 10 multi-unit appleS5 grapefruit, peaches, and water- stores carried 10 of the 12 juices studied. melons. Tn September the rural stores Four juices were carried by this many offered apples? bananas? jemons and single-unit stores and four others by 80 oranges and the urban stores, in addition, to 89 per cent. Availability of other juices grapefruit, cantaloupes, and peaches, in the single-unit stores ranged from 43 e e p • l • RANGE IN PERCENTAGE per cent for frozen grapefruit and pine- availarility during apple juices to 78 per cent for canned product six months orange and grapefruit juices. rural urran Although affiliated stores more often stores stores carried the juices studied than did the un- Apples 64-96 79-98 affiliated single-unit stores, the differences ^anan1as "' ;>l-99 95-98 , t P - ' . f Cantaloupes* 25-77 46-87 were least in the proportions of stores 0ranges 83_96 97_100 carrying the most popular juices, that is, Pears 4-54 13-74 canned grapefruit, orange, and tomato Strawberries* 8-49 11-58 juices. * May, July, and September only. [30] Processed fruits. Availability of all the processed fruits was higher in the urban than in the rural stores. There was not, however, much difference in prod- ucts carried by 90 per cent or more of all the stores surveyed. Among the canned fruits these included applesauce, apricots, fruit cocktail, cling peaches, pears, and pineapple. Other canned fruits available in this proportion or urban stores were red tart cherries, grapefruit sections, and Freestone peaches. PERCENTAGE AVAILABILITY OF EIGHT PROCESSED FRUITS PRODUCT CANNED FROZEN DRIED RUR. URB. RUR. URB. RUR. URB. Applesauce . . 94 97 — — 21 29 Apricots 94 95 — — 50 72 Cherries, red tart 78 92 6 10 — — Grapefruit, sections ... 83 92 19 30 — — Peaches 92 95 36 54 49 64 Pears 98 99 — — 6 17 Raspberries, red 30 50 47 59 — — Strawberries . 28 52 78 90 — — Strawberries were the most readily available frozen fruit in both urban and rural stores. Least available was red tart cherries. Others were offered by 13 to 59 per cent of the urban stores and by 10 to 47 per cent of the rural ones. Dried prunes and seedless raisins were carried by 90 per cent or more of both urban and rural stores. From one-half to almost three-fourths of the urban stores had sliced apples, apricots, peaches, figs, and seeded raisins, whereas only one- fourth to one-half of the rural stores car- ried these products. Urban stores, as large stores and multi- unit stores, frequently offered more than one variety or form of the processed fruits; the rural stores tended to stock only one. Fresh vegetables. More fresh vege- tables were available in three-fourths or more of the urban stores than in the rural stores in all months except May. [ NUMBER OF FRESH VEGETABLES LOCATION AVAILABLE IN 75 PER CENT OR OF STORE MORE OF STORES MAY JULY SEPT. NOV. JAN. MAR. Rural 6 5 6 7 6 6 Urban 6 6 7 8 8 7 Cabbage, carrots, head lettuce, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes were available in 75 per cent or more of both rural and urban stores in all months except July when potatoes were not available to this extent. In November sweet potatoes were also available. In addition, the urban stores carried corn, celery, sweet potatoes, in one to four months. RANGE IN PERCENTAGE AVAILABILITY DURING PRODUCT SIX MONTHS . RURAL URBAN STORES STORES Beets 9-12 26-38 Cabbage 83-91 90-96 Celery 53-62 73-79 Head lettuce 95-100 96-98 Peas 0-10 3-26 Potatoes, white 38-95 52-98 Spinach 6-35 25-58 Processed vegetables. Each of the processed vegetables was somewhat more generally available in urban than in rural stores. Among the canned vegetables the differences were small for green beans, corn, peas, spinach and tomatoes since they were found in very high proportions of both urban and rural stores. Sweet potatoes, lima beans, and asparagus were also carried by large proportions of both types of stores. Differences in offerings of frozen vege- tables in urban and rural stores were larger than for canned products. About nine-tenths of the stores in both areas had frozen peas and green beans. Four-fifths or more of the urban stores and two- thirds or less of the rural stores had asparagus, lima beans, French fried po- tatoes. All the dried vegetables were more available in urban stores than in rural stores, but differences were not large for most of those studied. 31] PERCENTAGE AVAILABILITY OF EIGHT PROCESSED VEGETABLES PRODUCT CANNED FROZEN DRIED RUR. URB. RUR. URB. RUR. URB. Asparagus ... 88 99 66 83 — — Beans, green, French cut. 51 80 47 73 — — Beans, red, kidney .... — — — — 83 86 Corn 97 99 79 89 — — Lima beans... 79 87 63 82 95 95 Peas 99 99 88 93 83 90 Potato, instant — — — — 63 78 Spinach 96 98 59 79 — — Processed juices. Proportions of urban stores carrying each of the proc- essed juices were in every case higher than the proportions of rural stores. Of- ferings of the canned juices in the urban stores ranged from a low of 85 per cent for orange and grapefruit juice to a high of 98 per cent for grapefruit and tomato juices. Availability in rural stores ranged from 69 per cent for orange and grape- fruit juice to 96 for tomato juice. Among the frozen juices, orange juice was most frequently available in both rural and urban stores. Grapefruit and pineapple juices were least frequently of- fered— about 40 per cent in the rural stores and about 55 per cent in the urban ones. NUMBER OF BRANDS OF SELECTED PROCESSED PRODUCTS Since this study was concerned in part with the availability of products from which consumers could make choices, data were collected regarding the number of brands of selected processed fruits and vegetables which were available in indi- \ [dual stores carrying these products. No attempt was made to determine the total number of brands available in all stores surveyed since the study was concerned with choices within stores. The results showed that, in general, the availability of specific products and the number of brands carried by individual stores tended to be related. The propor- tions of stores carrying the larger number of brands were usually highest for those products which were most commonly available and vice versa. There was some variation in this relationship from one product to another and also between canned, frozen, and dried products. For example, although the availability of sev- eral canned and frozen vegetables was approximately the same, the proportions of stores with only one brand were higher for the frozen than for the canned vege- tables. A consistent relationship existed for most products between the number of brands carried and the type of store. Number of brands in all stores Fruits. Only one brand of seven of the 11 selected canned fruit products studied was carried by the majority of the stores surveyed. About 83 per cent or more of the stores carried only a single brand of blueberries, grapefruit (broken pieces), and strawberries. From one-half to more than two-thirds had only one brand of dark sweet cherries, Royal Ann cherries, white figs, and purple plums. However, some of the stores carried as many as five or six different brands of some of these products. (See table A-l, Appendix.) The mean number of brands per store was highest for fruit cocktail and sliced cling peaches, both of which were carried by very large proportions of stores. About half the stores carried two or three brands of each of these products and one-fifth to one-fourth carried four or more. As many as 10 brands of peaches and eight brands of fruit cocktail were carried by some stores. Although about half the stores carried two or three brands of pineapple, only 6 per cent carried four or more. One brand only was found in practi- cally all the stores carrying frozen boysen- berries and grapefruit sections. Likewise only one brand was available in over four- fifths of the stores with each of the dried fruits surveyed — seeded raisins, figs, ap- plesauce, and pears. No store had more [32] than one brand of dried pears and only a very few had more than one of apple- sauce. Vegetables. Of the canned vegetables included in the survey the largest num- ber of brands was carried for green beans (French cut and whole). Almost ) three-fifths of the stores had two or more brands of these beans. About the same proportions of stores offered only one brand each of wax beans and diced beets. Some stores, however, carried five to seven brands of these canned vegetables. The proportions of stores with only one brand were, with one exception, much higher for the frozen and dried than for the canned vegetables. About 85 per cent of the stores carried only one brand of frozen French cut green beans, baby lima beans, chopped broccoli, leaf spinach, and potato patties. Over 90 per cent of the stores offered only one brand of all the dried beans surveyed — pink, pinto, and red kidney. Practically all the stores had one brand of garbanzo beans (chick peas) . On the other hand, almost half the stores had two or more brands of in- stant potato and some had four brands. Processed juices. Two or more brands of canned apple and mixed vege- table juice were carried by about half the stores. Fewer brands were available for the frozen juices — grape and grape- fruit— since 80 per cent or more of the stores had only one brand of each. Number of brands by types of stores The number of brands of most of the products increased as size of store in- creased. For the most part multi-unit stores carried more brands than the sin- gle-unit stores and urban stores more than the rural stores. The exceptions were canned grapefruit (broken pieces), frozen boysenberries and grapefruit sec- tions, dried applesauce, garbanzo beans, and pears. Practically all the stores car- ried only one brand of each of these prod- ucts. All of them were carried by 40 per cent or less of the stores. For the canned fruits and vegetables the relationships between the number of brands and types of stores were, with one or two exceptions, consistent. The follow- ing summary of these variations for a very commonly available canned prod- uct— fruit cocktail — illustrates these rela- tionships. STORES NUMBER WITH TYPE OF STORE OF THREE BRANDS OR MORE BRANDS RANGE MEAN PER CENT AH stores .. 1-8 2.6 48 Size: 1-2 employees. . .. 1-4 1.6 12 3-6 employees. . .. 1-6 2.3 40 7-14 employees . . 1-7 3.1 63 15 or more employees . . . . . 1-8 3.7 82 Organization: Multi-unit .. 1-8 3.4 74 Single-unit .... .. 1-7 2.3 36 Unaffiliated . . . . 1-7 2.0 28 Affiliated . . 1-7 2.6 46 Location: Rural . . 1-7 2.0 27 Urban .. 1-8 2.8 53 The number of brands of frozen and dried fruits and vegetables and of proc- essed juices, varied with type of store in the same manner as for canned products, although not quite as consistently. There may be several reasons for the variations in number of brands carried by the different types of stores but the rel- ative sales volume of the stores no doubt accounts in large part for these variations. The smaller stores, which are largely un- affiliated single-unit stores many of which are in rural areas, have a relatively small volume of business. Convenience in loca- tion is the major reason most of their customers patronize these stores. Since sales of individual products in the smaller stores is in total limited, stock- ing several brands of a product results in lower turnover of each and increases cost of selling. With a low turnover goods may remain on shelves for a considerable time and quality of even processed fruits [33] and vegetables may deteriorate. Thus these stores tend to carry only one brand of each product except for those in great- est demand. Conversely, stores with a large volume of business can offer a large number of brands which in turn attract those cus- tomers who wish a wide choice or who prefer specific brands and to whom con- venience is not of paramount importance. These stores are able to sell enough of each of several brands to provide a suf- ficiently rapid turnover to keep costs down and quality up. A question arises as to whether or not the multiplicity of brands of individual products offered in the market, and espe- cially the large number carried by some stores, is advantageous to the stores, to consumers, or both. Stores could undoubt- edly decrease costs of selling by concen- trating on fewer brands. If these savings were passed on to consumers in lower prices, shoppers might be willing to fore- go wide choices of brands and their special preferences. NUMBER OF SIZES OF CONTAINERS OF SELECTED PROCESSED PRODUCTS Data were collected regarding the num- ber of different sizes of containers from which consumers could choose selected processed fruits and vegetables in indi- vidual stores. The number of sizes of containers was found to be related to the availability of individual products. Mean numbers of sizes of containers were somewhat larger for canned and dried products than for the frozen ones. The number of brands and of sizes of containers carried by the stores were quite similar for many products. The ab- solute difference in proportions of stores with one brand and those with one size of container was less than 10 per cent for more than one-half the products studied. The relation was closer for fruits than for vegetables. The proportions were practi- cally the same for frozen and dried fruits. ^ Dried beans showed the greatest differ- ences since less than one-tenth of the stores carried more than one brand but almost two-thirds carried more than one size. The relationship between number of sizes of containers and type of store was 1 I much the same as that for brands. It was, however, not quite as consistent for some products as for the number of brands. Number of sizes of containers in all stores Fruits. Four-fifths or more of the stores carried only one size of canned strawberries, grapefruit sections, and blueberries. From 54 to 70 per cent of the stores had cherries (dark sweet and | Royal Ann) , white figs, and purple plums in only one size. Sliced cling peaches were * found in more sizes — 44 per cent of the stores carried then in three or more sizes. (See table A-2.) Fruit cocktail and grated or crushed pineapple were available in more sizes than the other canned fruits studied. Three or more sizes of fruit cocktail were found in almost two-thirds of the stores and crushed or grated pineapple in 56 per cent. In some stores fruit cocktail was found in as many as eight sizes and crushed or grated pineapple in seven sizes. Frozen boysenberries and grapefruit sections were found in only a single-size container in practically all the stores. Dried applesauce was available in only one size in 95 per cent of the stores. Al- most 85 per cent carried dried figs and seeded raisins in only one size of con- tainer. I Vegetables. Canned French cut green beans were more often found in two or more sizes of containers than whole green beans. Over one-third of the stores had two or more sizes of the French cut style while less than 10 per cent had the whole beans in this many sizes. Diced beets were found in more sizes than other canned [34] vegetables studied. Two or more sizes were carried by almost 40 per cent of the stores, and as many as four sizes were found in some. (See table A-2.) Almost all the stores carried only a single-size container of the five frozen vegetables surveyed — French cut green beans, baby lima beans, chopped broc- coli, leaf spinach, and potato patties. No store carried any of these products in more than two sizes. Dried pink, pinto, and red kidney beans were found in two or more sizes in about two-thirds of the stores. Only a single size of garbanzo beans (chick peas) was available in more than 90 per cent of the stores while two or three sizes of containers for instant potato were found in 40 per cent. Processed juices. The three canned juices in the study were found in more sizes than the frozen juices. Almost one- fifth of the stores carried canned apple juice in three or more sizes and one- fourth carried this many sizes of canned grape juice. Two or more sizes of mixed vegetable juice were found in almost three-fourths of the stores. Some stores carried as many as five sizes of mixed vegetable juice and grape juice while some had seven sizes of apple juice. Frozen pineapple juice was carried in a single size by most of the stores and frozen grape juice by two-thirds. Number of sizes of containers by types of stores In general, the larger the store the larger the number of sizes of containers in which products were offered. Likewise, for the most part more sizes were carried in the multi-unit and in the urban stores than in the single-unit and in the rural stores. Relationships between the unaffili- ated and affiliated single-unit stores and the number of sizes of containers were less consistent than for the other types of stores. The above relationships were consistent throughout for two-thirds of the products surveyed. The exceptions were all the frozen fruits and vegetables and a few dried products. These products were of- fered in only one size of container in practically all stores. The following data on fruit cocktail show the variations in number of sizes of containers in which it was offered in the different types of stores. STORES WITH NUMBER THREE TYPE OF STORE OF OR MORE SIZES SIZES OF CON- TAINERS RANGE MEAN PER CENT All stores , , . 1-8 2.5 63 Size : 1-2 employees . . , , . 1-3 2.0 35 3-6 employees. . , . 1-4 2.4 57 7-14 employees. . . 1-8 2.8 79 15 or more employees .. 1-8 3.0 87 Organization : Multi-unit ,. 1-8 2.8 80 Single-unit .. 1-5 2.4 56 Unaffiliated . . .. 1-5 2.2 46 Affiliated .. 1-4 2.6 68 Location: Rural , . 1-4 2.3 48 Urban .. 1-8 2.6 66 The reasons for the observed variations in number of sizes of containers in which processed fruits and vegetables were of- fered in the different types of stores are probably much the same as for the varia- tion in number of brands. At the time of the survey most frozen fruits and vege- tables were packed in one size of con- sumer package, accounting for the fact that most stores regardless of type car- ried only one size. Whether or not the consumers' needs are served by the practice of some stores in offering products in five to seven sizes (as was true for nearly one-third of the products surveyed) may be questioned. Since the sales of some of the sizes must be relatively small, selling costs are in- creased. On the other hand, it is quite possible that it would be advantageous to [35] consumers to be able to buy some prod- ucts, such as frozen fruits and vegetables, in more sizes. AVAILABILITY IN 26 COUNTIES In general, the regional availability of a product was high when it was offered in a large proportion of stores in a large number of counties. It is of interest, however, to know the extent to which availability varied from county to county in the region.9 Since the data from the stores surveyed in each county were weighted by the number of retail food stores in the county, the re- gional availability of individual products was influenced somewhat by the extent to which they were offered in the most popu- lous counties. Factors influencing the availability of specific fruits and vegetables in the indi- vidual counties included : Location of the county, population, extent of local pro- duction, and intraregional commerce and transportation. The data indicated to some extent the seasonal variation in availability of fresh products in different parts of the region. For example, fresh apricots were offered in May by stores in only two counties, both in the southern part of the region, but in all counties surveyed in July.10 Concentration of population seemed to be more closely related to the availability of fruits and vegetables than the geo- graphical location of the counties. In most of the nine states, where more than one county was surveyed, both fruits and vegetables, particularity fresh products, tended to be more available in the most populous counties. 9 Information regarding fruits and vegetables in individual counties may be secured from the respective state experiment stations. 10 Differences in times when fresh products were available in the different counties would have been more pronounced if their availability had been determined in each of the 12 months instead of in every other month. In Colorado, availability of the prod- ucts studied was, on the whole, higher in Denver County than in Arapahoe and Pueblo counties; in Washington, higher in King than in Spokane County; in Wyoming higher in Laramie than in Na- trona County; in New Mexico, higher in Bernalillo than in Eddy County. In the five counties surveyed in California the products were generally most frequently obtainable in the larger metropolitan counties. Conversely, products were least fre- quently carried by stores in some of the least populous counties studied, such as Eddy, Umatilla, Kootenai, and Natrona counties. In Umatilla and Eddy counties this was true for both fresh and processed products. Local production also influenced the availability of some products, especially the more perishable ones. For example, berries (except strawberries) were of- fered more often in counties in the north- ern part of the region, where they are grown more frequently, than in other parts of the region. On the other hand, the less perishable fruits — citrus fruits and apples — were carried by large pro- portions of stores in all counties of the region even though the citrus fruits are produced most extensively in Arizona and California and apples in Washington and Oregon. With some exceptions, there seemed to be an inverse relationship between avail- ability of fresh and processed products in some counties. Where fresh products were less available than in other counties, proc- essed forms tended to be offered more often, and vice versa. For example, fresh products in California's Alameda and Los Angeles counties were (in comparison with other California counties) relatively more available than processed products, while the reverse was true in Butte County. Intraregional commerce in fresh fruits and vegetables, even some of the more perishable ones, also influenced availa- 36 bility. The fact that such fresh vegetables as carrots, cabbage, celery, lettuce, on- ions, and tomatoes were generally avail- able in most counties, emphasized the efficient marketing of these vegetables. The extent to which many of the proc- essed fruits and vegetables were offered in all the counties attested to extensive commerce. For example, offerings of frozen products in counties that grow practically no fruits and vegetables were about the same as in the counties where they are grown and processed. Fruits Fresh fruits. Several fresh fruits were generally available throughout the region. Consumers in almost all of the 26 counties could buy apples, oranges, lem- ons, and bananas in three-fourths or more of the stores each of the six months sur- veyed. (See table A-3.) Oranges were most frequently offered in each of the counties. In nine counties, or over one-third of those studied, all the stores surveyed offered oranges every month. In all other counties, except one, eight or more stores out of every 10 car- ried them. Lemons and bananas were ob- tained almost as frequently. From 90 to 100 per cent of the stores offered lemons in 18 counties and bananas in 16 counties every month. Apples were also generally obtainable. Three-fourths or more of the stores in al- most every county had them for sale every month, and 95 per cent or more of the stores in half the counties offered apples in November. January, and March. Grapefruit were carried by three-fourths of more of the stores in 18 to 25 counties each month. Pears were less available although they were offered by some stores each of the six months. Their highest availability was reached in September and November, that is, in half or more of the stores they were for sale in 20 to 25 counties. Apricots, peaches, melons, and berries were highly seasonal in all counties. Apri- cots were found in some stores in every county in July and in half or more of the stores in 18 counties. Peaches were for sale in more than half the stores in all 26 counties in July and September. Plums were found in some stores in every county in July and September, and in half or more of the stores in 17 to 22 counties. Melons were most frequently offered in July and September in the majority of the counties. Although cantaloupes were found in half or more of the stores in only eight counties in May, three-fourths or more of the stores carried them in 19 to 23 counties in July and September. Watermelons were offered by half or more of the stores in 24 counties in July and in one-fourth or more of the stores in Sep- tember in all counties. Other melons could have been purchased in one-fourth to three-fourths of the stores in most coun- ties in September. Strawberries were more frequently available than the other berries. They were found in half or more of the stores in about two-thirds of the counties in May. Although strawberries were offered in some stores in 24 counties in July they were carried by half or more of the stores in only three counties. For the most part, raspberries, blueberries, and boysenber- ries were available in the 10 counties in the northern part of the region in July when they were found in from less than 10 to 60 per cent of the stores. Through- out the region red tart cherries were the least available of the fruits serveyed. Processed fruits. Canned. Six canned products — applesauce, apricots, red tart cherries, fruit cocktail, pears, and pineapple — were offered in three-fourths or more of the stores in all 26 counties. Fruit cocktail was highest in availabil- ity— every store surveyed in 21 counties and practically all the stores in the other counties carried it. (See table A -4.) Nine out of 10 stores had applesauce, pears, pineapple in all counties, cling peaches in 25 counties and red tart cher- ries in 15 counties. Half or more of the [37 stores carried raspberries and strawber- ries in 14 counties, blueberries and Royal Ann cherries in 23 to 25 counties. Plums were found in three-fourths or more of the stores in 19 counties and figs in this many stores in 15 counties. Frozen. Of the seven frozen fruits studied, five were available in at least some stores in every county. These were grapefruit sections, peaches, pineapple, raspberries, and strawberries. In 23 counties three-fourths or more of the stores had strawberries. Half or more of the stores offered raspberries in 17 coun- ties, peaches in 13, and pineapple in nine. Grapefruit sections were carried by less than one-fourth of the stores in 13 coun- ties, and in one-fourth to one-half of the stores in 11 other counties. Dried. Two dried fruits — prunes and seedless raisins — were available in 90 per cent or more of the stores in 23 of the 26 counties. Half or more of the stores offered peaches in 20 and seeded raisins in 18 counties. Sliced apples and dark figs were available in all counties but in only one-fifth to three-fourths of the stores. Sliced pears were least obtain- able— in 22 counties but in only one-third or less of the stores. Vegetables Fresh. Fresh vegetables were generally available in all 26 counties. Seven prod- ucts— carrots, celery, cabbage, cauli- flower, head lettuce, onions, and toma- toes— were offered by some stores in every county in each of the six months studied. The availability of many of these vegetables in the stores surveyed was relatively high in each county. (See table A-5.) Nine-tenths or more of the stores had onions, head lettuce, celery, and car- rots each of the months in 15 to 23 coun- ties, and cabbage and tomatoes in almost half of the counties. White potatoes were generally available in most counties ex- cepl in July. In this month nine-tenths or more of the stores in only 10 counties of- fered potatoes but in other months this many stores in 16 to 25 counties carried them. Sweet potatoes were also low in July, but available during all other months in at least some stores in every county. They were in 90 per cent or more of the stores in almost half the counties in November. Broccoli, corn, green beans, asparagus, t and peas were more seasonal than the vegetables discussed above. Broccoli was found in some stores every month in 12 counties and five months in 11 other coun- ties. During each of the months surveyed some stores carried peas in six counties and green beans in seven. Asparagus, which was most seasonal, was found in some stores in every county in May and in 25 counties in March. In addition to head lettuce, some other salad greens were quite common. Endive, romaine, and lettuce other than head let- tuce were available all six months in 20 to 23 counties. Other kinds of salad greens were offered this often in only seven coun- ties. The proportions of stores with these products varied greatly from county to county. Of the five other greens studied only spinach was found at all frequently. It was available in some stores all six months in 17 counties. Mustard greens were not offered at any time in three counties but were found in some stores each month in 10 counties, most of them in the southern section of the region. Chard, turnip greens, and kale were not found in any store in eight to 11 counties at any time, and then in only small proportions of stores in other counties. Processed vegetables. Canned. Household buyers in each of the counties had a wide selection of canned vegetables during the three months surveyed. Green beans were found in every store visited in 23 counties, peas in 21 counties. Nine or more stores out of 10 offered corn in every county, spinach, tomatoes and sweet potatoes in 24 or 25, asparagus and beets in 19 to 20 counties. Three-fourths or more of the stores carried lima beans [38] in 22 counties and wax beans in 16. (See table A-6.) Frozen. Three frozen vegetables — peas, corn, and green beans — were highly available; they were found in three- fourths or more of the stores in at least 24 counties. Broccoli, mixed vegetables, and asparagus were offered by this many stores in 18 to 20 counties. Spinach, squash, and lima beans were available somewhat less frequently. Frozen French fried potatoes were available in three- fourths or more of the stores in 17 coun- ties but the potato patties were available this often in only three counties. Dried. Of the dried vegetables studied, lima beans and white beans were the most frequently offered — in 90 per cent or more of the stores in 21 to 23 counties, and in three-fourths or more of the stores in all 26 counties. Pinto and red kidney beans were also available in three-fourths or more of the stores in 25 and 21 counties respectively. Pink beans and garbanzo beans (chick peas) were found much less frequently. Split peas were found in 9 out of 10 stores in 22 counties but instant potatoes in only six. Garbanzo beans and pink and pinto beans were carried by larger pro- portions of stores in the counties studied in Arizona, California, and Nevada than in the other states. Processed juices Of the processed fruit juices included in the study, orange juice was the most frequently offered, both canned and fro- zen— in 90 per cent or more of the stores in 23 to 24 counties. Canned grapefruit juice was also carried by nine-tenths or more of the stores in 23 counties. Frozen grapefruit juice was much less avail- able— in only two counties was it offered by as many as 70 per cent of the stores. (See table A-7.) Canned grape juice was carried by 90 per cent of the stores in 16 counties, the frozen in only six. At least 75 per cent of the stores carried canned apple juice and frozen lemonade in 23 to 24 counties, and frozen pineapple juice in only three. Canned tomato juice ranked with orange juice since in one-half of the coun- ties all the stores surveyed carried it and in 24 counties it was available in at least 90 per cent of the stores. Canned mixed vegetable juice was found in 90 per cent or more of the stores in 15 counties and in 75 per cent of the stores in 22 counties. PRICES OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES Aspects of prices that influence house- hold buyers in their choices of fruits and vegetables include prices, especially of fresh products, at different seasons; the prices of different products available at a given time; the prices of different forms and varieties in which they are available; and the prices of products available both fresh and processed. Buyers are also con- cerned with the prices at which products are available in the different types of stores to which they have access. DISPLAY OF PRICES The extent to which prices are posted on or near fresh and processed fruits and vegetables may influence the buyers' choice. They may turn from unmarked products to others on which prices are displayed. The availability of prices varied be- tween fresh and processed products for both fruits and vegetables. However, no difference was observed between extent to which prices were available for fruits and for vegetables. Practices of display- ing prices varied according to size, or- ganization, and location of the stores. Display of prices in all stores On the whole, prices of fresh fruits and vegetables were not posted in about 10 [39] The survey of prices is based on the study of the following products : Fresh: FRUITS Apples Cantaloupes Oranges Raspberries Apricots Grapefruit Peaches Strawberries Bananas Lemons Pears Canned: Applesauce Cherries, red tart Peaches Pears Apricots Grapefruit, sections Cling Pineapple Boysenberries Freestone Raspberries Frozen: Cherries, red tart Pineapple, chunks Raspberries, red Strawberries, sliced Peaches, sliced Dried : Apples, sliced Apricots, halves Peaches, halves Fresh: VEGETABLES Asparagus Carrots Lettuce Spinach Beans, green Cauliflower Onions Squash Beets Celery Peas Sweet potatoes Broccoli Corn-on-cob Potatoes Tomatoes Cabbage Canned: Asparagus Corn Peas Sweet potatoes Beans, green Lima beans Spinach Tomatoes Beets Frozen : Asparagus Corn Potatoes, Spinach Beans, green Lima beans French fried Squash Broccoli Peas Dried : Beans, white Lima beans Peas, split PROCESSED JUICES Canned : Grapefruit Orange Tomato Frozen: Grapefruit Orange per cent of the stores which carried the of fresh fruits and vegetables varied products. Prices of processed products somewhat from one product to another, were displayed in practically all the (See table 9.) stores. Prices of fresh fruits that were less Fresh fruits and vegetables. The commonly available tended to be dis- practices of the stores in displaying prices played more often than those of highly [40] J Table 9. Display of Prices of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Stores Surveyed Product Fruits: Applesf Apricots Bananas Cantaloupes Grapef ruitf Lemons Orangesf Peaches Pears Raspberries Strawberries Vegetables: Asparagus, green Beans, green Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery, bunch Corn-on-cob Lettuce, head Onions, dry, white or yellow Peas Potatoes, white, maturef Spinach f Squash Sweet Potatoes Tomatoesf Stores in which prod- uct was available with price posted* per cent 89-92 91 81-87 90-94 91-93 85-88 88-92 90 93-95 89-94 87-97 90-95 89-97 85-89 86-88 87-94 89-92 91-95 83-87 85-87 93-96 84-91 88-95 92-95 87-92 86-90 able. Range in the months in which product was avail- t Prepackaged or in bulk. available fruits. Prices of apples, ba- nanas, grapefruit, lemons, and oranges were marked in 81 to 93 per cent of the stores, those of less available fruits in 88 to 96 per cent. The same relationship was observed for fresh vegetables. For the five vegetables most available each month — cabbage, carrots, head lettuce, onions, and toma- toes— prices were posted in 83 to 90 per cent of the stores. Prices for the less available vegetables were given in 84 to 97 of the stores. The range was from a low of 83 to 87 per cent for head lettuce to 89 to 97 per cent for broccoli. The differences, small but discernible, may be explained by the dealers' assump- tion that the consumer will be more famil- iar with the prices of readily available fresh fruits and vegetables. The more sea- sonal products are offered less frequently, their prices vary, and are posted more often. Another possible explanation for not listing prices is that stores catering to high-income buyers assume that prices of some products are not especially impor- tant to their patrons. Processed fruits and vegetables. Food buyers in the western region could readily find prices of processed products in a very high percentage of the stores which carried them. Prices of all the canned and dried fruits, vegetables, and juices studied were marked on the can or package, or displayed on nearby shelves in at least 99 per cent of the stores. Prices of frozen products were only slightly less often displayed than those of canned and dried products. Prices of frozen fruits were given in 93 to 98 per cent of the stores and those of frozen vegetables in 96 to 98 per cent. Prices of frozen juices were displayed least often. Display of prices of fresh products by types of stores Prices were marked more often in large than small stores; in multi-unit than in single-unit stores; in affiliated than in unaffiliated single-unit stores; and in urban than in rural stores. The relative availability of products in the different types of stores probably explains differences in practices of post- ing prices. As discussed in a previous sec- tion, the small, the single-unit, and the rural stores tended to carry only the most frequently available products. Size of stores. The manner in which display of prices increased as size of store increased is illustrated with apples. Prices were posted in 64 to 67 per cent of the stores with 1 or 2 employees, in 87 to 92 per cent of the stores with 3 to 6 em- ployees, in 95 to 98 per cent of those with 7 to 14, and in 97 per cent or more of those with 15 or more employees. The pic- [41] ture was similar with other fresh fruits products prices were given in about 80 and vegetables as shown below. to about 90 per cent of the unaffiliated stores and in 85 to 95 per cent of the 1-2 15 or more affiiiated ones in most months. product employees rp^ pr0p0rtions 0f stores in which PER CENT PER CENT . t l J • J r _ . prices were displayed varied more Irom - Fruits: of stores r * / . ^ rc -n 07 on one month to another in the unaffiliated Bananas 56-71) W-W m . Grapefruit 65-75 97-100 than in the affiliated single-unit stores lor Oranges 61-71 98-100 practically all products. For example, 73 Pears 50-83 99-100 per cent 0f tne unaffiliated stores pro- Strawberries 69-75 99-100 vided priceg of cabbage in March, and oSbbage' 62-70 99-100 83 per cent in September, but the pro- Cauliflower 50-67 99-100 portions of affiliated stores which gave Head lettuce 61-67 99-100 these prices varied only from 86 per cent 0nions S7-66 97-100 . September to 88 per cent in several Spinach 47-71 97-100 ^ ^ e other months. In general, only about two-thirds of Location of stores. Urban stores the smallest stores (1 to 2 employees) posted the prices of their fresh fruits and marked the prices of fresh fruits and vegetables much more frequently than the vegetables. Proportions in which prices rural stores. Prices of all the products of the majority of products were dis- studied were marked in at least 85 per played ranged from about 60 to 70 per cent of the urban stores, and for the large cent of these stores. In contrast, prac- majority of the products they were given tically all the largest stores (15 or more in at least 90 per cent of these stores, employees) posted the prices of their In contrast, prices were for the most fresh products. Part — m five-sixths of the cases — dis- The greatest difference among the four played in 70 to 90 per cent of the rural size groups was found between the small- stores. For more than one-fifth of the (1 or 2 employees) and the next larger fresh products studied— beets, cabbage, (3 to 6 employees). Prices of most of the green beans, peas, raspberries and ba- products were posted in about 80 to 90 nanas— prices were given in one or more per cent of the stores with 3 to 6 employ- months in only half to about two-thirds ees, in 90 to 97 per cent of those with 7 of the rural stores. The practices of the to 14, and in 97 to 100 per cent of those rural stores in posting prices varied more with 15 or more employees. from month to month than in the urban Organization of stores. Prices of stores for practically all the products fresh fruits and vegetables were more fre- studied. quently posted in multi-unit stores than PRICES IN ALL STORES in single-unit stores, but dinerences were not as large as between small and large Prices were determined for a consider- stores. For the majority of the products, able proportion of the fruits and vege- prices were displayed by 95 to 99 or 100 tables included in the study. Mean prices per cent of the multi-unit stores and by Per Pound and the Price ranges were cal- 80 to 90 per cent or slightly higher of the elated for all stores surveyed and for single-unit stores. the stores classified by type.11 Prices in Although prices were more often u These prices were calculated from those in marked in affiliated than in unaffiliated stores in wnicn Prices were posted. Prices of single-unit stores, differences were not as fresh, fruits were not calculated for those 1 ! J , . , months in which fruits were available in less pronounced as between multi-unit and than 10 per cent of the stores in the region single-unit stores. For the majority of and vegetables in less than 12 per cent. [ 42 ] this bulletin, unless indicated otherwise, are mean prices per pound as purchased. Prices of the processed products were secured per can or package as offered in the stores and converted to price per pound on the basis of the net weight as given on the labels of containers. When buying fruits and vegetables con- sumers are concerned with relative prices of the different products and with the prices of fresh and processed products on an edible ready-to-eat basis. Skins, pits, cores, defects, under- or over-maturity constitute waste for fresh products. Sirups and other liquids on canned and frozen products may also be wasted. Dried prod- ucts, on the other hand, because of ab- sorption of moisture, increase in yield when prepared for use. This study offered an opportunity to compare the mean prices per pound of a few fruits and vegetables as purchased and the mean prices per pound of the edible ready-to-eat product. Such com- parisons could not be made for all prod- ucts for which prices were procured be- cause data on percentage yields have not been published. Prices of both fruits and vegetables as purchased varied widely, from compara- tively inexpensive to expensive. Although prices of none of the fruits studied were as low as those of some of the vegetables, mean price per pound of some fruits and of some vegetables were comparatively high. Usually the more expensive prod- ucts were those which were rather highly perishable and highly seasonal. Mean prices of individual fresh prod- ucts varied with the season. All fresh products are "seasonal" to some extent since the supply on the market varies with the harvest season and the extent to which they are stored. The differences between the highest and lowest mean prices were greatest for the most perish- able products and those affected most by seasonal supply. For some products, how- ever, the differences were relatively small. Mean prices of the processed products varied with the product and the type of processing. Each of the products cost more per pound frozen than canned. Indi- vidual dried fruits, on the whole, were more expensive per pound than canned or frozen, dried vegetables were less expen- sive than in the other two. Fruits Fresh fruits. Of the six fruits which were available during each of the six months in which they were surveyed, grapefruit were least expensive — 12 to 14 cents per pound — in all months except September. Oranges, which were the lowest priced fruit in September, were next to grapefruit in mean price per pound — 13 to 16 cents. Apples were also among the least expensive fruits from September through March — 15 to 16 cents per pound — but they were among the most expensive in May and July — about 21 cents. (See table 10.) Prices of bananas and lemons remained about stable throughout the year, bananas varying from 18 to 19 cents and lemons from 19 to 20 cents in mean price. Mean prices of the highly seasonal fruits were much higher, on the whole, than those of the less seasonal ones. Raspberries, available only in July, were 42 cents, and strawberries 30 and 33 cents, respectively, in May and July. Of the seasonal fruits, cantaloupes were least expensive having been lowest at 9 cents in September and highest at 17 cents in May. Availability from month to month and mean prices were associated for most of the fruits. Apples, which were available in 75 per cent of the stores in July were 21 cents per pound ; in November through March, when they were available in 95 to 98 per cent of the stores, their mean price dropped to 15 cents. Grapefruit which varied somewhat more in availability than oranges also varied slightly more in price. Mean prices of lemons and bananas whose availability changed little from month to month varied only about 1 cent [43] CM O ■**> CM lO OO DO O! f U5 OO (D -H CM CO CO "5 00 00 OS O CO 2 Z CM U0 n n n CO 00 CO OC i US "<* co co os os CO CM CO co CO CO !D «5 ^i 1(5 ifl S •O OS CM «5 CN 00 O OS OS »C OS OS M N M W s n n •• '_H co Q «- CD O a 3 : " a e K o mo,© Q a> 6.8°oo c o $ 2 o > > per pound during the six months sur- veyed. Prices per pound ranged widely be- tween stores in the region for all the fresh fruits studied. Although during most months prices as low as 4 to 8 cents were reported in some stores for the less sea- sonal fruits, prices from 25 to 35 cents were commonly reported, and some prices were as high as 40 to 60 cents. For example, the prices of grapefruit in No- vember varied from 4 to 40 cents and in March from 4 to 25 cents. Widest ranges in prices were reported for the highly seasonal berries — raspberries and straw- berries. Processed Fruits. Canned. Mean prices per pound of the 10 canned fruits studied varied greatly. Canned rasp- berries cost more than twice as much as applesauce. (See table 11.) Raspberries, the most expensive canned fruit, were priced at 42 cents. Next in price were boysenberries at 33 cents. Lowest were canned peaches, 19 and 21 cents, respectively, for cling and Free- stone varieties, and applesauce at 20 cents per pound. Between the most and least expensive canned fruits were grape- fruit sections and pears at 23 cents, apri- cots at 24 cents, red tart cherries and pineapple at 27 cents. As in the case of fresh fruits, there was a considerable range between the lowest and highest prices at which each of the canned fruits was available in individual stores in the region. Frozen. The lowest mean price per pound among the five frozen fruits studied was 33 cents for pineapple chunks and the highest was 58 cents for raspber- ries. Strawberries averaged 40 cents, peaches and red tart cherries 38 and 35 cents respectively. All the frozen fruits for which prices were obtained were more expensive than the corresponding canned fruit. Mean price of frozen raspberries was 16 cents more per pound, red tart cherries almost 9 cents more, peaches from 17 to 19 cents Table 11. Prices of Processed Fruits in Stores Surveyed Product Canned: Peaches, cling Applesauce Peaches, Freestone. Grapefruit, sections Pears, Bartlett Apricots Cherries, red tart Pineapple Boysenberries Raspberries Frozen: Pineapple, chunks. Cherries, red tart . . Peaches, sliced Strawberries, sliced Raspberries, red. . . Dried: Peaches, halves. . . . Apples, sliced Apricots, halves. . . Price in cents per pound Mean Range 42.2 12-35 9-39 12-35 13-39 13-54 14-48 17-48 16-44 18-52 27-84 20-56 23-62 23-53 21-72 30-78 28-144 28-168 47-132 more depending upon the variety, and pineapple 6 cents more. Dried. Three dried fruits — peach halves, sliced apples, and apricot halves were priced. The respective mean prices per pound were 60, 77, and 92 cents. An extremely wide range in prices was re- ported for each of these fruits. Edible ready-to-eat fruits. On the ready-to-eat basis mean prices per pound of five of the six fresh fruits surveyed were lower than the prices of the cor- responding canned, frozen, and/or dried products. (See table A-8.) As shown in the table on the next page, fresh apples cost about the same as canned applesauce except in May and July when fresh apples were most ex- pensive— 7 to 8 cents more per pound of edible product. Fresh pears cost from slightly more than half to three-fourths as much as the canned. Fresh apricots were a little more than half the canned and about two-fifths the dried product. Grape- fruit were less fresh than canned. Fresh peaches cost less than canned and dried ones, and less than half as much as the [45] APPLES CENTS Fresh Sept.-Mar 19-21 May, July 27-28 Canned applesauce 20 PEACHES Fresh July, Sept 24-28 Canned 29 Frozen 60 Dried 32 PEARS Fresh 20-30 Canned 38 APRICOTS Fresh July 21 Canned 41 Dried 48 GRAPEFRUIT Fresh 26-34 Canned 36 STRAWRERRIES Fresh May 31 July 35 Frozen 79 frozen product. Fresh strawberries, too, cost less than half the price of the frozen. Vegetables Fresh vegetables. The vegetables for which prices were obtained per pound were divided into three groups, based on mean prices, as follows: LOWEST MEDIUM HIGHEST PRICED PRICED PRICED Beets Broccoli Asparagus Cabbage Cauliflower Green beans Carrots Celery Spinach Corn-on-cob Head lettuce Tomatoes Onions Peas Potatoes Squash Sweet potatoes In the lowest-priced group, mean prices ranged from 6 to 13 cents per pound. Potatoes were lowest at 6 to 8 cents and carrots were highest at 11 to 13 cents. All of these lowest-priced vege- tables, except beets, were among those most highly available in the 6 months surveyed in all types of stores when grouped by size, organization, and loca- tion. (See table 12.) Mean prices of the medium-priced vegetables ranged from 13 to 17 cents for celery to 20 to 22 cents for broccoli. (Squash ranged from 13 to 31 cents.) Of these, head lettuce was among the most highly available; celery and sweet pota- toes were also quite generally available in many stores. In the highest-priced group, asparagus was lowest with mean prices ranging from 20 to 31 cents; green beans highest at 20 to 47 cents. Asparagus and green beans, the least and most expensive in this group, were more highly seasonal than spinach and tomatoes. The inclusion of the latter two vegetables in the highest- priced group was caused by the high price of the packaged product. Mean price of bulk spinach ranged from 14 to 18 cents while that of packaged ranged from 37 to 42 cents. Prices per pound reported for each vegetable varied widely from store to store. For some products, price differ- ences reported by the stores tended to be smallest in the months when the mean prices were lowest, and highest when mean prices were highest. For example, in May when the mean price of cauli- flower was 23 cents a range of 8 to 65 cents was reported; in September when the mean price was 17 cents the range was 4 to 39 cents. Similarly tomatoes, with a mean price of 17 cents in Septem- ber, varied from 4 to 42 cents, while in March, when the mean price was 44 cents, the range was 6 to 79 cents. Processed Vegetables. Prices of the processed vegetables, as did those of fresh vegetables, ranged from the compara- tively inexpensive to the expensive (See table 13.) Canned. Tomatoes at 15 cents, beets at 16 cents, and spinach at 17 cents had the lowest mean prices per pound ; asparagus at 45 cents the highest. Peas, green beans, corn, sweet potatoes, and lima beans ranged in price from 20 to 26 cents. To- [46] I OS a Os •o •c OS OS »o OS «fl £ «: OS Os oc o- !N N M ■* CO ifl • 3 CM co -f -r co co 1 1 1 1 1 t>. CO -CP CO O T CO 1" CO ,d CC — CM t* o3 S o «? to fr~ CC — IO — < -v oc o CC os o CM CO Ov O O CM 1- CM CM CO — — r o t- a CM CM i-H x u: m ic CO * 1 CM «0 tf s T3 C > 3 o O a c 03 CC N « — cc = CO CO t-H CO a S _| f-H f-< .-H et CO CM to C OJ o C 03 »« CM OS o c « co os r^ •<*! o- w. a- CO CM 0) C CM CM CM f CM IO rH CM CO CM o f CO •* M OS ■"* ■<»< «5 CM CO CO CC CO C os -r cd p « a U £ a 1 w l^ t^ t^. |-H CM OS CO «« CM CO o »« — i *2 OS CO CM CO o- SC O co ~r i— r^ t^ c CO t^ a ~ CM CM >-H a- 03 OS «5 -f co >« •C OS OS CM CO o O os «: CO OS -H ^H CM -H CM r- CM CO »C CO CM CM Ct- -P CO CO CM ■* Tti CO CM o t^ »c «o CC »C CC w. CO OS ti ^H >S i-s T-- CO CO O -h CC ^C o os -r J2 O CO CM CO •- ec © ~< t^ t^ o ec ■>* CO ^P a ~ ~ CM CM " -h >- CM CM CM CM CO lO ^t t- c es o «s ■*< t- o o * CO CO C CM i-h CM T ^ S] *tfi CO TP CM CM o co co us u: er co "fl •> 03 3 c o3 IO OS — OS t~- " CO O CO J^ o t^ w- 'P 00 0> OS CO — CO — 1C O N N t 0C CJC X os c — t^ s CM CM — — — CO CO o 3 T3 O 03 £ $ o i w e « 5 a o Q e H O a T3 CO 1 JQ 1 c 0 "c "l 11 6. r c a E 1 fl< -O M y 5 n C * — O . cp c * 7L %> D ^ s W CD J2 u 5 gliS S h i , U 03 C e a o 03 "S .6 S > cp 03 o: 5 « O C o 'c C q «- os cu aj a - is 5 J2 ^ a o o c a w P3 O U h1 ft r. a x H *1 s m 03^ If 03 <^ Table 13. Prices of Processed Vegetables in Stores Surveyed Product Canned: Tomatoes Beets Spinach Peas Beans, green Corn, yellow Sweet potatoes Lima beans Asparagus Frozen: Squash Spinach Peas, green Corn Potatoes, French fried Beans, green Broccoli Lima beans Asparagus Dried: Beans, white Peas, split Lima beans Price in cents per pound Mean Range 6-34 10-42 8-34 10-44 10-39 1 1-37 12-46 12-54 17-88 15-44 15-53 13-46 16-54 21-48 22-57 16-72 16-62 9-39 10-36 8-41 matoes and spinach which were in the highest priced group of fresh vegetables were among the lowest priced in the canned. Frozen. Prices of frozen vegetables varied from a mean price of 26 cents per pound for squash to 78 cents for aspara- gus. Spinach, peas, corn, and French fried potatoes cost from 30 to 35 cents. Green beans, broccoli, and lima beans were priced at 40 to 44 cents and asparagus at 78 cents. The six vegetables, which also were priced as canned products, were 10 to 32 cents more in mean price per pound or 45 to 90 per cent more expensive as frozen products. Lowest price reported for frozen vegetables was 13 cents for peas and the highest was 96 cents for as- paragus. Dried. Dried vegetables can scarcely be compared to either the canned or frozen products. However, the three dried vegetables priced, lima beans at 21 cents per pound, split peas at 18 cents, and white beans at 17 cents, were considerably lower in mean price than the correspond- ing products canned or frozen. Edible ready-to-eat vegetables. When mean prices per pound of ready-to- eat cooked vegetables were calculated, some were less expensive when bought as the fresh product rather than as canned or frozen while the reverse was true of others. Fresh broccoli cost less than the frozen. As shown in the table below, fresh asparagus, even when it was most expen- sive, also cost less than the canned or frozen product. (See table A-8.) Mean prices of fresh green beans on the edible cooked basis were 3 to 14 cents less per pound than the canned and 7 to 18 cents less than the frozen except in January and March when the fresh cost 39 and 56 cents, respectively. On the same basis, fresh spinach purchased in bulk was 3 to 5 cents per pound less than the canned in four months and 5 to 12 cents less than the frozen every month. When purchased prepackaged the fresh was 20 to 28 cents — 66 to 91 per cent — more than the canned and 13 to 21 cents — 35 to 56 per cent — more than the frozen. Fresh peas were 17 to 27 cents more per pound than the canned and frozen. Frozen asparagus, beans, and spinach cost 4 to 7 cents more per pound than the canned while canned and frozen peas cost about the same. On the ready-to-eat basis mean prices of dried white beans and dried split peas were only a fraction of the prices of fresh, canned, or frozen products. ASPARAGUS CENTS Fresh March 63 May 40 Canned 91 Frozen 97 BEANS Fresh, green May-Jan 24-39 March 56 Canned, green 38 Frozen, green 42 Dried, white 7 [48] BROCCOLI Fresh 32-36 Frozen 46 PEAS Fresh March-July 52-61 Canned 34 Frozen 35 Dried split 7 SPINACH Fresh Bulk 26-33 Prepackaged 51-59 Canned 31 Frozen 38 Processed juices Of the five processed juices studied, to- mato juice — at 11 cents — had the lowest mean price per pound. Canned grape- fruit and orange juices were slightly higher in price, and the frozen juices were much higher. PRICE PER POUND JUICES MEAN RANGE Canned: cents cents Grapefruit 12.1 8-20 Orange 14.0 8-25 Tomato 10.6 6-16 Frozen : Grapefruit 49.0 32-77 Orange 54.6 24-80 Frozen grapefruit juice was 49 cents per pound as compared with 12 cents for the canned juice; frozen orange juice was priced at 55 cents as compared with 14 cents for the canned. However, if the frozen juices were reconstituted on the basis of three to one, the prices were quite comparable. Edible ready-to-eat juices. Mean prices per pound of fresh orange and grapefruit juices were calculated from the mean prices of the fresh fruits. They were about two or three times as expensive as the canned and the reconstituted frozen juices. Fresh grapefruit juice cost 28 to 36 cents per pound depending upon the month the fresh fruit was priced as com- pared with 12 cents for the canned and frozen. Price of fresh orange juice was 27 [49 to 33 cents and the frozen and canned juices about 14 cents. PRICES OF SPECIFIC VARIETIES OF SELECTED FRESH PRODUCTS The price of a specific variety of fresh fruits or vegetables is influenced by such factors as supply (as expressed by avail- ability in stores), competition with other varieties and other fresh products and, of course, its popularity with consumers. Various combinations of these factors at different times make it difficult to relate prices to individual factors. This is illus- trated in the case of some of the products included in this study. (See table A-9.) Fruits The mean prices per pound of several varieties of apples illustrate some of fac- tors influencing the price. Prices of Red Delicious (16 cents), and of Romes and Newtown-Pippins (13 to 15 cents) were lowest in November, January, and March, the months when each variety was most frequently found in the stores surveyed and when the largest number of varieties were offered. Peak of supply, as indicated by high availability in stores, and com- petition between varieties, seemed to have lowered the mean prices for these varie- ties during these months. Prices of Winesaps and Jonathans il- lustrate that competition with other varie- ties may be more important than supply (availability in stores) in determining their prices, at least during certain sea- sons. (See table 14.) The mean price of Winesaps was 15 cents in January and March when they were offered by 50 to 60 per cent of the stores. In November, when they were of- fered by only 13 per cent of the stores, the price was 14 cents. Competition with several other varieties in November may have kept the mean price lower than when they were more frequently available. In May, when they were carried bv 80 per cent of the stores, the mean price was 22 Table 14. Mean Prices Per Pound and Per Cent Availability of Five Varieties of Apples Variety May July Sept. Nov. Jan. Mar. Red Delicious 24 42 24 12 19 67 16 95 16 96 16 97 Rome, Red Rome, Roman Beauty * * * 15 52 15 55 15 51 Newtown-Pippin * * 16 19 14 14 13 45 14 66 14 Availability in stores (per cent) 51 Winesap 22 80 25 55 * 14 13 15 50 15 61 Jonathan * • 16 56 12 48 * * Available in 5 per cent or less of the stores. cents. In this month their major competi- tion was with Red Delicious which were available in 42 per cent of the stores at a mean price of 24 cents. The mean price of Winesaps in July was 25 cents, al- though they were carried by more stores than in January when the mean price was 15 cents. However, competition with Red Delicious or other varieties was much lower in July than in January. The mean price of Jonathans was 16 cents in September when they were avail- able in 56 per cent of the stores. In No- vember when they were offered almost as frequently, but had more competition with other varieties, they cost 12 cents. Mean prices of Red Delicious and New- town-Pippins indicate that popularity with consumers may be more important than supply in determining prices. The mean price of Red Delicious regard- less of supply, was higher than other varieties during five months. In Novem- ber through March when they were car- ried by practically all the stores surveyed and when no other variety was carried by more than two-thirds of the stores, their mean price was 1 to 4 cents higher. Although Newtown-Pippins were avail- able in only 14 per cent of the stores in September, as compared with one-half to two-thirds of the stores in January and March, the mean price, 14 cents, was the same in each of these months. The greater popularity of Red Delicious and Jona- thans, priced at 19 and 16 cents re- spectively, in all probability was largely responsible for the mean price of New- town-Pippins in September. Mean prices of navel oranges — 14 to 17 cents — were 1 to 2 cents higher per pound than those of Valencia oranges — 13 to 15 cents — in November through May. There was only % cent difference in the prices in July and September. These two varieties of oranges do not compete since they are for the most part available at different times of the year. Availability of Navels was highest in Jan- uary through May and that of Valencias was highest in July through November. Prices of both varieties tended to be slightly higher in the period of highest supply (availability in stores). Navels cost 14 to 17 cents when offered by the highest proportions of stores, and 13 to 16 cents when offered by much smaller proportions. Valencias were 14 to 15 cents [50 J when most available and 13 to 15 cents when least available. It is quite possible that lack of competition between the two varieties and superior quality of each at the peak of its season make for highest prices during periods of largest supply. The mean prices of pink grapefruit were higher each month than those of the white which were more available. The pink were a little more than 2 cents higher than the white in September and Novem- ber, and about 4 cents higher in the other months. Mean prices of the pink varied from 14 cents in November to 18 cents in September, and those of the white varied from 10 to 11 cents in November through May to 15 cents in September. Mean prices of pink grapefruit were highest — 16 to 18 cents — when least available and lowest — 14 to 15 cents — when most available. This was not the case for the white: their price was high- est in the month when they were most frequently offered. However, this was the month when the pink were offered by the fewest stores. Perhaps lack of competi- tion with the pink, which many consum- ers consider the more desirable, and pos- sibly superior quality of the white at the peak of its season were responsible for higher prices at this time. Vegetables Mean prices of white celery were 2 to 5 cents higher than those of the green. Prices of white varied from 17 to 19 cents from month to month and the green from 12 to 17 cents. White onions were consistently 2 to 3 cents higher in mean price than the yel- low in each of the six months. The white varied from 11 to almost 14 cents and the yellow from 8 to 11 cents. Lowest prices of each variety occurred in September through January when the yellow was obtainable for 8 cents and the white for 11 cents. In March through July the yel- low cost 10 to 11 cents and the white 13 to 14 cents. Differences in prices of the two major varieties of white potatoes — Russets and White Rose — were very small, that is, less than 1 cent in four months and only a little over 1 cent in two. The highest mean price of the White Rose was in March, 8 cents, and that of the Russets in July, 7 cents. Although yams were much more avail- able in all months than the light yellow sweet potatoes their mean prices were 1 cent higher in May and July. The light yellow was 2 to 4 cents higher than the yams in the other months. The light yellow variety was highest in price, 21 cents, in September and the yams highest in July, also 21 cents. Lowest mean price of each was in November when the light yellow was 16 cents and the yams 14 cents. Differences in mean prices of the three groups of varieties of squash were much larger than between varieties of the other vegetables. Also prices of each group varied more from month to month then the other vegetables. Winter squash, rep- resented by Acorn, varied from 10 to 24 cents and summer squash — zucchini and scalloped — varied from 15 to 32 cents. The mean prices of all three groups were about the same in two months, that is, 19 to 20 cents in May and between 16 and 17 cents in July. During each of the other months prices of the two groups of summer squash were about the same but they were from 4 to 15 cents higher than the winter group September through March. For example, they were about 15 cents as compared with 11 cents for the latter in September. The mean prices of the winter group varied with availa- bility, that is, they were highest when least available and vice versa but this was not true for the summer varieties. PRICES OF SELECTEP FRESH PRODUCTS PREPACKAGED AND IN BULK The relative mean prices per pound of bulk and prepackaged fresh fruits and vegetables varied greatly from product 51 to product. The mean prices of the fruits studied — apples, oranges, and grapefruit — and one of the vegetables — potatoes — were lower when prepackaged than when offered "loose." On the other hand, pre- packaged tomatoes and spinach were more expensive than the bulk. (See table A-10.) Prices in all stores surveyed The differences between mean prices of the prepackaged and bulk varied with the product. For example, the difference in price of potatoes did not exceed 1 cent during any month. Prices of bulk apples were 1 to 4 cents higher than the pre- packaged, bulk oranges 2 to 4 cents higher, and grapefruit 5 to 6 cents higher. Differences in mean prices of the more expensive products were larger. Prepack- aged tomatoes were 6 to 12 cents higher than the bulk. At its lowest mean price — 37 cents — the prepackaged spinach was 23 cents more per pound than the bulk. At its highest price the difference was 27 cents — prepackaged 42 cents and bulk 15 cents. PRODUCT BULK Fruits: CENTS Apples 15-22 Grapefruit 13-16 Oranges 14-17 Vegetables: Potatoes 6-8 Spinach 14-18 Tomatoes 17-40 PREPACK- AGED CENTS 12-20 8-11 12-15 5-7 37-42 23-52 A number of factors are responsible for the differences in price of prepack- aged and bulk products. Bulk products require more labor to handle in the re- tail store, which may offset or more than offset the cost of prepackaging. When products are displayed loose, consumers pick and choose, selecting the best and leaving inferior products to be sold at greatly reduced prices; this must be offset by higher prices for the lot. Losses arise from damage done by consumers han- dling the products when making their se- lections. Also, retailers suffer greater losses from spoilage when products are sold in bulk, because consumers who would not knowingly buy a rotten apple, or potato, may unknowingly buy one or more not visible in a package. These reasons apply to spinach as well as to the other products studied, but here an important factor more than offsets them. Prepackaged spinach is, in part at least, ready to be cooked, and saves the consumer labor in preparing it for use. Thus, the consumer is willing to pay a considerably higher price for the pre- packaged product. For tomatoes, however, there seems no logical reason why prices should be higher for the prepackaged than for the bulk. Cost of handling bulk are higher, losses from damage and spoilage are un- doubtedly much higher, and prepackaged tomatoes are no more ready for eating than bulk. Prices by types of stores There was no apparent or consistent relationship between mean prices per pound of the bulk and prepackaged fruits and vegetables studied and type of store. Price differences were about the same regardless of size of stores, organization of stores (multi-unit and single-unit stores), or location in urban and rural areas. PRICES IN STORES CLASSIFIED BY TYPE Data on prices classified by three types of stores, which are summarized here, are available in a supplement. (See appen- dix B.) The differences in mean prices per pound of fruits and vegetables between stores when classified by type were small. Moreover, variations between the highest and lowest prices in the different types were not markedly different. However, ranges in prices were in many cases some- what larger in the largest stores, in the multi-unit stores, and in the urban stores. [52] No clear relationship was evident be- tween type of store and mean prices of all the products, such as existed between availability of products and type of store. There seemed, however, to be some indi- cations that, particularly for some groups of products, prices tended to be higher in the smallest than in the largest stores, higher in the single-unit stores than in the multi-unit ones, in the unaffiliated than in the unaffiliated single-unit stores, and higher in the urban than in the rural stores. On the whole, variations in mean prices per pound of the fresh vegetables between the different types of stores were larger than those of the fresh fruits; and price differences between frozen fruits and vegetables were larger than for the other processed products. The relationship between mean prices of the processed products and type of store was more pronounced than that be- tween fresh products and type of store. The mean prices of the majority of the processed products studied were highest in the smallest stores, in the single-unit stores, in the unaffiliated ones, and in the rural stores. Size of stores Fresh fruits. Prices of apples and grapefruit varied less than 1 cent among stores of different sizes in five of the months studied. Oranges, pears, lemons varied about 1 or 2 cents, raspberries about 5 cents, and strawberries 4 to 6.5 cents. Some fruits tended to be highest in the largest stores, others in the smallest stores. Prices of oranges, for example, were highest each month in the smallest stores, while those of pears were lowest in these stores four out of six months. There was some indication, however, that on the whole, prices of fruits tended to be somewhat higher in the smallest than in the largest stores, with prices in the other stores ranging between these two sizes. Mean prices of each product for each month in the smallest stores (1 or 2 employees) were compared with those of the largest stores ( 15 or more em- ployees) . About 70 per cent of them were higher in the smallest than in the largest stores, the average difference being 1.3 cents. The average difference in prices for those which were higher in the largest stores was 2 cents. Processed fruits. Mean prices per pound of the processed fruits also varied only little with size of store. Of the canned fruits mean prices of canned applesauce, boysenberries, and grapefruit varied only 1 cent or less, peaches, pears, pineapple, and raspberries in the neighborhood of 2 cents. Mean prices of seven canned fruits were slightly higher in the small- est than in the largest stores and those of three others were slightly higher in the largest stores. Prices of frozen fruits varied from about 1 to over 4 cents between stores of different sizes. The mean prices of three of the five fruits surveyed decreased con- sistently, though in small amounts, from the smallest to the largest stores. Even though mean prices of dried fruits were high, at least 60 cents per pound, they varied only a few cents among stores of different sizes. Apricot halves were priced at 90 cents in the larg- est stores and 94 cents in the smallest. Sliced apples varied from 74 cents in the largest stores to 80 cents in the next to the smallest size. Prices of peach halves varied less than 2 cents between stores of different sizes. Fresh vegetables. On the whole, dif- ferences in prices of fresh vegetables in stores of different sizes tended to be slightly larger than differences in fresh fruits. As in the case of fresh fruits, there was no clear-cut relation between mean prices of fresh vegetables and size of stores. However, slightly more than half of the mean prices were higher in the largest stores, the average of the differences be- ing 2 cents. The average difference in 53 prices which were higher in the smallest stores was 2.3 cents. Processed vegetables. Differences in mean prices of canned vegetables ranged from 0.2 cent for spinach to 2.4 cents for sweet potatoes. Prices of beets, sweet pota- toes, tomatoes, and spinach were lowest in the largest stores; those of corn, peas, and asparagus were lowest in the smallest stores. Mean prices of frozen vegetables varied about the same as frozen fruits — 1.6 to 4.1 cents. Mean prices of eight of the nine products decreased consistently as size of store increased. Mean prices per pound of dried vege- tables varied about % cent to slightly more than 2 cents. Prices of the three dried vegetables studied decreased as size of store increased. Processed juices. Prices of the canned juices and of frozen orange juice also decreased as size of store increased. The lowest price of frozen grapefruit juice was found in the largest stores and the highest in next to the smallest. Organization of stores Fresh fruits. Price differences of fresh fruits between multi-unit and single- unit stores did not exceed 2 cents for the products which were available during all six months studied. In a majority of cases the differences were less than 1 cent. The widest variation was found for peaches: their mean price in July was 19 cents in multi-unit and 22 cents in single-unit stores. The relation between prices in the two types of stores was not consistent from one product to another or from one month to another for a specific product. Only bananas and oranges were consistently higher in the single-unit stores each month. Considering all the fruits studied in all months, more than three-fourths of the mean prices were higher in single- unit than in multi-unit stores. Differences in mean prices of fresh fruits between affiliated and unaffiliated single-unit stores were less than differ- ences between multi-unit and single-unit stores as more than three-fourths of the differences amounted to less than 1 cent. The mean prices were more frequently higher in the unaffiliated stores although lemons and pears were the only fruits which were consistently higher in all six months. Five-sixths of the mean prices were higher in the unaffiliated stores. Fresh vegetables. Although the dif- ferences in mean price of fresh vegetables in multi-unit and single-unit stores were in some cases as high as 3 cents or more, about two-thirds of them were less than 1 cent. None of the fresh vegetables studied was consistently higher in either type of store over the six months. Slightly less than half the mean prices were higher in the multi-unit stores than those in the single-unit stores. The mean prices per pound of fresh vegetables were much more frequently higher in the unaffiliated than the affili- ated stores. But the differences between the two types of stores were larger than in the case of fresh fruits — more than one- third cost 1 cent or more, and almost one- fifth 2 cents or more in the unaffiliated stores. Although mean prices of three- fourths of the vegetables were higher in the unaffiliated than in the affiliated stores, beans, beets, cabbage, and celery were the only ones which were consist- ently so throughout the six months. Processed fruits and vegetables. Mean prices of all the canned, frozen, and dried fruits and vegetables were higher in single-unit than in the multi-unit stores. Those of the processed juices were higher in the multi-unit stores. Prices of the canned fruits were from 0.3 to 1.4 cents higher and those of the canned vegetables from 0.1 to 1.2 cents higher. Differences in frozen products were slightly larger — 0.8 to 2.3 cents for the fruits and 1.0 to 2.4 cents for the vegetables — differences in more than half of the latter being over 2 cents. Differ- ences between prices in multi-unit and [54 single-unit stores were higher for dried fruits — 3.1 to 7.1 cents — than for dried vegetables which varied from only 0.2 to 1.3 cents. The canned juices were less than 1 cent higher and the frozen juices were more than 1 cent higher in the multi- unit stores. All of the canned fruits and the ma- jority of the canned vegetables studied were higher priced in the unaffiliated single-unit stores than in the affiliated ones. The canned fruits were between 0.1 and 2 cents higher. Five of the canned vegetables were from 0.3 to 1.3 cents higher in the unaffiliated than in the af- filiated stores and three were from 0.1 to 0.4 cent higher in the affiliated stores and one was the same price. The majority of the frozen fruits — peaches, pineapple, and strawberries — were 0.8 to 2.1 cents higher in the unaf- filiated stores. Two — cherries and rasp- berries— were 1.2 and 0.4 cents, respec- tively, higher in the affiliated stores. The mean prices of all the frozen vegetables except squash were 0.7 to 2 cents higher in unaffiliated than in the affiliated stores. Likewise, the mean prices of all the dried fruits and vegetables were higher in the unaffiliated than in the affiliated stores. The dried fruits were 0.2 to 1.3 cents and the dried vegetables 0.2 to 1.0 cent higher in these stores. Processed juices were also slightly more expensive in the unaffiliated stores. The mean prices per pound of the canned juices were 0.3 to 0.7 cent and those of the frozen juices 1.4 to 2.9 cents higher. Location of stores Fresh fruits. Price differences of fresh fruits in rural and urban stores were small. For example, prices of apples were practically the same in both types of stores, and oranges varied only about % cent. The seasonal fruits varied more — apricots 3.1 cents and strawberries 4.0 cents. The majority of the prices — 56 per cent — were higher in rural stores with an average difference of 0.9 cent. Fresh vegetables. Mean prices of some fresh vegetables, such as cabbage and potatoes, were practically the same in rural and urban stores. On the other hand, green beans were in some months as much as 8 cents more and beets and spinach were 3 to 6 cents higher in the urban stores. Prices of five other vege- tables varied 3 to 5 cents between the rural and urban stores. Almost 60 per cent of the mean prices were higher in urban stores. Processed fruits and vegetables. Neither rural nor urban stores showed any real advantage over the other in prices of canned fruits. Five fruits were 1/2 cent or less higher in rural stores, and four others were 0.3 to 1.0 cent higher in urban stores. Seven canned vegetables were 0.2 to 1.4 cents higher in urban stores and two were higher in the rural. Three frozen fruits were 0.1 to 2.2 cents higher in rural stores, one was 0.7 cent higher in urban stores, and one was the same price in both. On the other hand two-thirds of the frozen vegetables were higher priced in urban stores — 0.1 to 0.5 cent. The dried fruits except apricots were 1.0 to 2.9 cents higher in urban stores and two of the three dried vegetables studied were higher in the rural stores. Processed juices. Four were 0.1 to 0.7 cent higher in the rural stores but frozen grapefruit juice was 1% cents higher in urban stores. PRICES IN 26 COUNTIES Prices for fruits and vegetables varied widely in each county surveyed, and they also varied widely from county to county. In most cases differences between the mean prices per pound in the 26 counties were not as large as the price differences within the individual counties. Variation in prices within counties may arise largely from such factors as size, organization, and location of the stores. Differences from county to county may [55] he influenced by size and character of the population of the county, distance from major areas of production, costs of transportation and storage, and season- ability of each product. Fruits Fresh fruits. Of the 11 fresh fruits for which prices were compiled, grape- fruit and oranges were the least expen- sive the year around in the 26 counties. The mean prices of white grapefruit per pound were less than 15 cents in 25 or all 26 counties in three months, and in half or more of the counties the other three months. Oranges were also less than 15 cents in 20 to 25 counties four months. At the other extreme were strawberries and raspberries. During the limited sea- son they were generally on the market (May and July) strawberries were 25 cents or more per pound in practically all the counties. Raspberries were much higher in price, in some counties 60 cents or more. Between these extremes were apples, bananas, lemons, and pears for which mean prices were from 15 cents to less than 20 cents in the majority of counties in two or more of the six months in which they were surveyed. Prices of apricots, and peaches were somewhat higher and cantaloupes lower in the one or two months they were available in most counties. Oranges and white grapefruit were not only lowest in price among the fruits studied but they showed the greatest uni- formity in mean prices from county to county. The differences between the high- est and lowest mean prices per pound of oranges in the 26 counties were only 4 to 5 cents in five months and 6 cents in one month (November) . Mean prices for oranges in 18 to 19 counties varied only 2 or 3 cents from county to county each month. They were lowest in price, 10 to I 1 cents, in May in 18 counties; highest, 15 to 18 cents, in 17 counties in March. The variation between months was only 3 rents or less in 20 counties. The variation in mean prices of white grapefruit among counties was 5 to 7 cents. In a large majority of counties prices were within a range of 3 cents in five months. Mean prices were 10 to 12 cents in 18 to 20 counties in January, March, and May, 13 to 15 cents in 20 * counties in July, and 14 to 16 cents in 19 counties in September. In November mean prices in half the counties were 14 to 16 cents. Variations in mean prices with season were 5 cents or less in 17 counties. • Mean prices per pound of apples were less than 15 cents in 15 counties in No- vember and in 13 counties in January. They were 20 cents or more in 20 and 16 counties in May and July, respectively. They varied from about 12 cents to about 20 cents from county to county Septem- ber through March, 17 to 27 cents in May, and 14 to 25 cents in July. Prices of bananas averaged 15 to less than 20 cents in 20 to 24 counties in all months except July when they were 20 to less than 25 cents in 10 counties. Al- though prices varied from 14 to 23 cents depending upon the season, differences < between counties were only 5 to 7 or 8 cents each month. Mean prices of lemons were between 15 and 20 cents in 16 to 21 counties each month. In other counties they were usu- ally 20 to 25 cents. In five months the lowest mean prices in the 26 counties were 16 to 17 cents and highest 21 to 23 cents, a difference of 5 to 7 cents. In May they varied more — 14 to 26 cents. Season affected prices of cantaloupes greatly in all counties. Mean prices per pound were less than 20 cents in 20 coun- * ties and more than 20 cents in some in May. They were between 10 and 15 cents in 20 counties, and less than 10 cents in 4 counties in July. In September mean prices had dropped to 4 to 9 cents in 15 counties. A Apricots varied from 13 to 29 cents from one county to another in July. Peaches varied from 14 to 29 cents in [56] July and from 13 to 25 cents in Septem- ber while mean prices were 20 cents or more in the majority of the counties in July and less than 20 cents in September. Pears were lowest in mean prices in all counties in September when they varied from 13 to 20 cents. Greatest differences among counties occurred in January and March, when prices varied from 12 to 29 cents. Prices differed only 7 to 10 cents in the other months. Raspberries, available in July only in 18 counties, varied greatly in mean prices from county to county. They were 30 to 36 cents in Washington and Oregon; 39 to 50 cents in Idaho, Montana, and Utah; 58 to 60 cents in California; 60 cents and more in Colorado, Wyoming, and Nevada. Strawberries also varied widely but not as much as raspberries. Mean prices per pound were 25 to less than 30 cents in 11 counties in the southern part of the region in May, and 30 to 40 cents in most of the other counties. They were 2 to 7 cents higher in July than in May in the majority of the counties, but 11 to 12 cents higher in some. In both months va- riation between counties was about 25 cents. Prices of all the fresh fruits studied usually varied from store to store within individual counties more than mean prices varied from county to county. For example, mean prices of apples varied 8 cents among counties in September but prices ranged from 5 to 29 cents in such widely separated areas as Alameda, Mult- nomah, and Clark counties. Processed fruits. Canned. Differ- ences between the lowest and highest mean prices of canned fruits in the 26 counties were 3 to 9 cents per pound. The difference was smallest for cling peaches, 3 cents, and highest for raspberries, 9 cents. Red tart cherries varied 4 cents from county to county, Freestone peaches, apricots, and grapefruit sections 5 cents, applesauce, pears, pineapple 6 cents, and boysenberries 7 cents. Mean prices in the majority of counties fell within a 3-cent range. PRODUCT RANGE CENTS IN 26 COUNTIES Applesauce 17.9-23.9 Apricots 22.8-28.2 Boysenberries 29.9-37.3 Cherries, red taxt 24.9-29.0 Grapefruit, sections 20.9-25.5 Peaches : Cling 17.5-20.6 Freestone 18.4-23.3 Pears 21.1-27.0 Pineapple 24.4-30.3 Raspberries, red 38.8-48.0 The prices reported, with very few ex- ceptions, varied more within the county than the mean prices varied from county to county. Red tart cherries, for example, ranged from 23 to 31 cents in King County, cling peaches from 16 to 32 cents in Multnomah County, raspberries from 40 to 65 cents in Salt Lake County, apri- cots from 16 to 33 cents in San Diego County. MEDIAN CENTS 20.8 24.3 32.9 26.9 22.7 19.2 21.0 23.7 28.0 41.9 3-CENT RANGE RANGE NUMRER CENTS COUNTIES 18.0-21.0 22 23.0-26.0 19 31.0-34.0 17 25.0-28.0 21 21.0-24.0 23 17.0-20.0 24 20.0-23.0 20 22.0-25.0 19 26.0-29.0 17 40.0-43.0 15 57 Frozen. The mean prices of the five frozen fruits surveyed varied more from county to county than the mean prices of most of the canned fruits. Strawberries varied 7 cents, peaches 9 cents, raspber- ries 12 cents, pineapple and red tart cher- ries 18 cents. Mean prices in about two- thirds or more of the counties were within a 5-cent range. ] RANGE CENTS IN 26 COUNTIES Cherries, red tart 23.0-41.2 Peaches, sliced 34.0-42.6 Pineapple, chunks 20.0-38.2 Raspberries, red 51.6-63.8 Strawberries, sliced 36.9-43.9 * Available in 10 counties only. MEDIAN CENTS 35.7 38.5 32.3 58.0 40.3 5-CENT RANGE RANGE NUMBER CENTS COUNTIES 33.0-38.0 6* 36.0-41.0 24 30.0-35.0 17 55.0-60.0 17 38.0-43.0 20 Here, too, differences in prices within the counties were usually larger than the differences in mean prices from county to county. Peaches, for instance, were priced from 33 to 47 cents in the stores in Natrona County, pineapple from 28 to 42 cents in Lane County, raspberries from 38 to 69 cents in Butte County. Dried. The mean prices of the three dried fruits surveyed varied among the counties even more than the frozen fruits. Apple ranged from 64 to 92 cents per pound, with about one-third of the coun- ties reporting 80 to 90 cents. Apricots varied from 83 cents to $1.04, with mean prices between 80 and 90 cents in 11 counties. Peaches were 50 to 75 cents, with prices between 58 and 65 cents in 22 counties. Prices also differed greatly form store to store within individual counties. Dried apricots were priced from 54 cents to $1.18 in Butte County and peaches from 47 to 83 cents in Spokane County. Vegetables Fresh vegetables. In general, prices of fresh vegetables in the counties fol- lowed the over-all pattern of the region. Vegetables ranged widely in price from one product to another and could readily be grouped as lowest-priced, medium- priced, and highest-priced. (See table A-12.) Potatoes were the lowest-priced vege- table in all the counties. Mean prices were l*ss than 7 cents in most of the counties except in March when they were 7 to about 10 cents in 20 counties. Differences [58 in prices among counties in a given month were only 2 or 3 cents. Onions were lowest in price in most , counties in September, November and January when mean prices were under 10 cents in 17 to 22 counties. In March, May, and July they were 10 cents or more in 22 to 25 counties. Differences among counties were 4 to 6 cents. Mean prices of corn-on-cob were less than 10 cents per ear May through No- vember in 17 to 26 counties. They were less than 7 cents in 18 counties in Sep- tember. Differences in mean prices of corn between counties were 4 to 5 cents when it was in season. Mean prices of cabbage were less than 10 cents in a large majority of the coun- ties except in March when they were 10 cents or more in 20 counties. Prices in the different counties ranged from 6 to 11 cents in four months and from 7 to 13 cents in two months. Bunched beets were 10 cents or more in the majority of ' the counties in which they were available. Mean prices were 13 cents or more in 7 counties in May and November. Lowest prices in most months were 6 or 7 cents, and the highest 17 to 19 cents. Among the low-priced vegetables, < bunched carrots were most expensive in most counties. They were 13 cents or more in 11 to 15 counties except in May when they cost less than 13 cents in 16 counties. Difference in mean prices were 7 to 16 cents according to the month. In the medium-priced group of vege- tables squash varied most in price from county to county. In September it was 10 ] to 14 cents in the majority of the coun- ties, and in several it was below 10 cents. In March it was 29 cents or more in 17 counties. In November the mean prices ranged from 6 to 32 cents among the counties, a difference of 26 cents. In other months differences amounted to 8 to 22 cents. Celery in the bunch and head lettuce were 15 cents and below 20 cents in the majority of counties in most months. Celery was less than 20 cents in 25 coun- ties in September and head lettuce was 20 cents or more in 21 counties in March. Differences between lowest and highest mean prices were not large — 9 to 11 cents for celery and 11 to 14 cents for head lettuce. Mean prices of sweet potatoes varied least from county to county in January when they were between 15 and 20 cents in 23 counties. The variations were also rather low in November and March but in July they ranged from 12 to 29 cents. Differences in mean prices from county to county were 9 to 13 cents for broccoli, 12 to 16 cents for peas, and 14 to 20 cents for cauliflower, depending upon the month. The mean prices of the highest-priced vegetables — asparagus, green beans, to- matoes, and spinach — varied widely from county to county. Asparagus was less than 30 cents in 26 counties in May and 30 cents or more in 16 counties in March. Although the mean prices were only 15 to 24 cents in May they were 21 to 41 cents in March. Green beans which were available in a large majority of the counties only May through November were lowest in price in September when mean prices were less than 20 cents in 13 counties. Prices varied from 13 to 29 cents in September and from 19 to 31 cents in November. How- ever, in May they varied from 23 to 41 cents and in July from 14 to 35 cents. In March when they were available in only 8 counties they were 46 cents or more in 6 of the counties. Mean prices per pound of tomatoes varied widely since the prepackaged was more expensive than the bulk. Highest prices occurred invariably in those stores which carried only the prepackaged ; low- est prices in stores which carried only bulk. Price ranges for tomatoes July 14^-34^ September 12^-24^; November 20^-39^ January 35^-54^ March 34^-55^ May 26^-49^ The variation in mean prices of toma- toes from month to month was much greater in some counties than in others. In San Diego County mean prices varied from 18 to 35 cents and in Fresno County from 14 to 59 cents. They were high throughout the year in Laramie County — 43 to 48 cents in four months and 28 to 29 cents in two months. Mean prices of spinach also varied widely because of the price differential between the bulk and packaged products. Prices ranged from 7 to 56 cents in No- vember, 7 to 59 cents in January, and 7 to 61 cents in March. In the other three months lowest prices were 12 or 13 cents, highest 45 to 56 cents. In some counties prices were comparatively low at all times such as 12 to 19 cents in Maricopa County where spinach was usually sold in bulk. In other counties where it was usually sold prepackaged prices were much higher. For example, in Denver County mean prices were 40 to 44 cents through- out the six months and in Salt Lake they were 46 to 52 cents. Prices within counties in a given month usually ranged widely for most vegeta- bles. In Ada County cabbage was 6 to 19 cents in May and 9 to 15 cents in March. Cauliflower was 10 to 20 cents in Umatilla County in September and 19 to 35 cents in March. Salt Lake County prices of head lettuce ranged from 10 to 21 cents [59] PRODUCT RANGE CENTS IN 26 COUNTIES Asparagus 40.8-50.9 Beans, green 17.5-28.4 Beets 13.4-19.6 Corn, yellow 20.3-25.6 Lima beans 21.8-32.2 Peas 18.6-24.6 Potatoes, sweet 17.7-28.4 Spinach 15.1-18.3 Tomatoes 13.2-17.5 in May and from 14 to 19 cents in Sep- tember. Processed vegetables. Canned. Mean prices of several of the canned vege- tables studied varied more widely among counties than those of canned fruits. Spinach and tomatoes varied least, 3 and 4 cents, respectively. Beets, corn, and peas varied 5 or 6 cents, asparagus, green beans, lima beans, and sweet potatoes varied 10 or 11 cents. Variations in mean prices were 3 cents or less for all the vegetables in half or more of the counties. Again a wide price range was reported by the stores in individual counties. Prices of canned asparagus varied from 17 to 56 cents in Laramie County, green beans from 13 to 34 cents in Denver County, tomatoes from 12 to 24 cents in Los Angeles County. Frozen. Among the frozen vegetables the largest difference in mean prices among the 26 counties was 16 cents for asparagus and the lowest was 5 cents for squash and lima beans. Differences were 10 cents or more for broccoli and French MEDIAN CENTS 44.9 21.1 16.1 22.4 25.6 20.4 23.9 17.3 15.5 3-CENT RANGE RANGE CENTS 43.0-46.0 20.O-23.0 15.0-18.0 19.0-22.0 23.0-26.0 19.0-22.0 22.0-25.0 16.0-19.0 14.0-17.0 NUMBER COUNTIES 13 19 17 23 14 23 16 19 21 dried potatoes, but peas, corn, green beans, and spinach varied 8 cents or less. Mean prices of all except asparagus varied within a 5-cent range in 20 or more counties. Within individual counties price ranges were likely to be wide. Frozen broccoli sold for 34 to 53 cents per pound in Den- ver County, peas for 19 to 32 cents in King County and squash for 20 to 29 cents in Los Angeles County. Dried. The mean price per pound of three dried vegetables differed 5 to 9 cents from county to county. Since prices were much lower than those of dried fruits the variations were much less. Mean prices of lima beans ranged from 19 to 26 cents, and split peas from 14 to 23 cents. The ranges within individual counties were sometimes wide. White beans varied from 13 to 28 cents in Cascade County, split peas from 10 to 36 cents in Alameda County. Lima beans were priced at 17 to 26 cents in Bannock County but this was only a 2-cent wider range than that be- tween mean prices. PRODUCT RANGE CENTS IN 26 COUNTIES Asparagus 69.0-84.7 Beans, green 36.4-43.8 Broccoli 34.7-47.0 Corn, whole kernel 29.6-37.9 Lima beans 41.5-46.9 Peas 29.2-35.3 Potatoes, French fried 28.4-38.5 Spinach 27.5-33.7 Squash 23.9-28.9 MEDIAN CENTS 78.3 39.5 42.7 33.0 44.3 31.7 35.3 26.1 31.7 5-CENT RANGE RANGE NUMBER CENTS COUNTIES 75.0-80.0 14 36.0-41.0 22 40.0-45.0 20 31.0-36.0 23 42.0-47.0 24 29.0-34.0 24 33.0-38.0 22 27.0-32.0 25 24.0-29.0 26 [60] Processed juices Mean prices of canned grapefruit juice varied from county to county from 11 to 14 cents, orange juice from 12 to 16 cents, and tomato juice from 9 to 12 cents per pound. However, a very large majority of the counties reported mean prices within somewhat narrower ranges. Canned grapefruit juice was priced from 10 to 15 cents in Cascade County, orange juice from 12 to 18 cents in Ban- nock County, and tomato juice from 7 to 12 cents in Alameda County. Mean prices of frozen grapefruit juice ranged from 45 to 56 cents from county to county, and frozen orange juice from 50 to 63 cents. However, prices of grape- fruit juice were 48 to 54 cents in two- thirds of the counties and those of frozen orange juice 52 and 58 cents in three- fourths of the counties. The prices of these frozen juices varied widely from store to store within individual counties, as, for example, grapefruit juice at 43 to 61 cents in Eddy County and orange juice at 27 to 69 cents in Fresno County. [61 APPENDIX A Table A-l. Number of Brands of Selected Processed Fruits, Vegetables, and Juices in Stores Surveyed Product Stores which carried product Per cent with specified number of brands One Two Three Four or more Number of brands Range Mode Fruits: Canned Blueberries Cherries: dark, sweet : Royal Ann Figs, white Fruit cocktail Grapefruit, broken pieces Peaches, cling, sliced. . . . Pineapple: Chunks or tidbits Crushed or grated Plums, purple Strawberries Frozen Boysenberries Grapefruit, sections Dried Applesauce Figs, dark Pears, sliced Raisins, seeded Vegetables: Canned Beans, green: French cut. : whole Beans, wax , Beets, diced Frozen Beans: green, French cut. : lima, baby Broccoli, chopped Potato patties Spinach, leaf Dried Garbanzo beans Beans: pink : pinto : red kidney Potato, instant Juices: Canned Apple Grape Mixed vegetable Frozen Grape Pineapple 84.6 66.9 69.2 57.4 28.2 83.3 30.4 45.0 41.9 52.5 87.7 94.1 84.3 100.0 81.1 43.3 42.2 66.0 57.9 83.0 84.2 85.1 87.6 85.6 96.1 91.7 93.1 53.3 47.1 40.3 51.4 80.1 88.2 15.4* 25.9 23.5 29.2 23.6 9.6 28.0 32.6 33.1 31.1 12.3* 1.2 1.3 5.9 15.7* 29.7 30.3 21.9 30.2 14.4 13.4 12.8 12. 4* 12.4 1.2 3.9 8.3" 6.9* 38.3 30.6 34.4 35.0 17.7 11.8" 7.2* 7.3* 9.5 22.1 7.1 21.8 16.5 18.8 12.4 6.1 = 17.5 14.4 9.9 11.9* 2.6" 2.4" 2.1" 2.0* 8.4* 14.9 20.2 13.6* 2.2* 3.9 26.1 5.9 6.2 4.0 7.4 5.1 1-3 1-4 1-5 1-6 1-8 1-5 1-10 1-6 1-6 1-6 1-3 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-4 1 1-5 1-6 1-7 1-5 1-5 1-4 1-4 1-4 1-3 1-4 1-2 1-2 1-3 1-5 1-4 1-6 1-5 1-5 1-4 1-3 k [ncludes stores with additional number of brands. [62] Table A-2. Number of Sizes of Containers of Selected Processed Fruits, Vegetables, and Juices in Stores Surveyed Product Stores which carried product Per cent with specified number sizes of containers One Two Three or more Number of sizes of containers Range Mode Mean Fruits: Canned Blueberries Cherries: dark, sweet : Royal Ann Figs, white Fruit cocktail Grapefruit, broken pieces Peaches, cling, sliced Pineapple: Chunks or tidbits Crushed or grated Plums, purple Strawberries Frozen Boysenberries Grapefruit, sections Dried Applesauce Figs, dark Pears, sliced Raisins, seeded Vegetables: Canned Beans, green: French cut. : whole Beans, wax Beets, diced Frozen Beans: green, French cut. Lima beans, baby Broccoli, chopped Potato patties Spinach, leaf Dried Garbanzo beans Beans: pink : pinto : red kidney Potato, instant Juices: Canned Apple Grape Mixed vegetable Frozen Grape Pineapple 97.4 70.2 64.2 58.7 13.3 87.7 23.4 34.7 16.7 54.3 79.8 99.4 98.2 94.9 84.4 100.0 84.3 62.8 90.7 77.1 61.4 99.3 99.6 99.0 95.0 99.2 92.4 38.1 32.8 37.3 60.7 44.7 32.6 27.2 67.0 97.0 2.6 24.8 31.1 30.9 23.2 12. 3* 32.1 33.3 27.7 34.4 20.2 0.6 1.8 5.1* 13.5 37.2* 9.3* 22.9* 34.9 0.7 0.4 1.0 5.0 0.8 7.6 49.2 38.9 45.8 33.4 36.9 42.9 55.4 33.0 3.0 5.0 4.7 10.4 63.5 44.5 32.0 55.6 1.3 1-2 1-5 1-4 1-5 1-8 1-3 1-5 1-5 1-7 1-5 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-4 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-4 1-5 1-4 1-3 1-7 1-5 1-5 1-2 1-2 10 1.4 1.4 15 2.5 1.1 2.2 2.0 2.7 1.6 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.1 1.2 1.4 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.8 2.0 1.8 1.4 1.8 2.0 1.9 1.3 1.0 Includes stores with additional number of sizes of containers. 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Plums Raspberries Strawberries Frozen: Boysenberries Cherries, red tart Grapefruit, sections Peaches, sliced Pineapple Raspberries, red Strawberries, sliced Dried: Apples: Applesauce Sliced Apricots, halves Figs, dark Peaches, halves Pears, sliced Prunes Raisins: Seeded Seedless Number of counties in each percentage range 1.0- 24.9% 25.0- 19.9% 50.0- 74.9% 75.0- 100% 26 [65 ■8 ■*» W w o o CO o •■§ oj e>» = 03 go if" ^h o CO — ' re . _ t- t~ iC oo — • oj N f tO C5 TJ< SO CO • CO CI ~l I- i/t Tl I- -M ro . 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J 6 o * 03 cu 03 flj * a c ! a .-e II s 5 a c C at £ * 1 rp z .2 '2 03 w aao3o3«^ojE5jSo3_5 < < PC c O >-: c a a PC X fcuo > co 0 tJi ~h CM CO O M rt lO CO t- »0 OS «5 CO -a 53 co e > i-i o3 o •O t^ lO o CO oo CM c3 O o5^ X M (N Cj O CM cm <=>T3 53 o c > o3o CO CO J~8 o-c 53 © ^ > ^ 33 O f CM -»— 00 CO AS' 05 "*i CM H— CM OT3 cm a3 ^^: N 00 !D H- U5 if U3 ih » O 00 CM 00 ■*— CO — ' © CO "5 -f— © CO CM — — SCO =;t3 53 © 5 > O • I •»- t- t- © o _ . CM CM I IS0 ►Sis <=»T5 53 CM 03 c • CM -h CM CM ^ CO t^ (^ CT> t^ CM Jf1 t^ OS *- ^S | °T3 53 © C > ■f 03 o °-o 53 o e > rf< a3 o a ic s n n co s ' CO CO •° 2 a 03 03 O o o o si 6 O ft. : -a • CJ a a o er. . . unch lead o "3 IUM PR occoli . uliflow lery, b ttuce, or oo ~ 03 0) 3 ® Q li 35 0) CP C £ a CQ OOJd. cc 02 ps § £ | | « § ts w * a C a : a is .: c a oo «j a c X £j~ * en a c.a M 33 C -2< APPENDIX B The following tables in which data are classified for three types of stores have been recorded on microfilm and in mimeographed form. They are available as follows: Microfilm: Positive film strips, for use in a microfilm reader, are on deposit in the Agricultural Reference Service, University of California Library, Berkeley, and in i the Library of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, in Washington, D.C. These are identified in the card catalog as follows: Coles, Jessie V. et al., Availability and prices of fruits and vegetables in the Western region. Results of studies made in retail stores. Copies of the entire microfilm supplement may be purchased from Library Photo- graphic Service, University of California, Berkeley. The price for the entire strip is * S3.00. Specify Misc. Microfilm No. 2592. Copies of individual tables within the microfilm strip, enlarged to approximately 8%/r x 11", may be obtained from the Library Photographic Service. The cost is $1.00 plus postage for one to four prints; 25 cents for each additional print. Minimum order $3.00. Specify Misc. Microfilm No. 2592 and give the numbers of tables de- sired. Do not pay in advance. Pay on receipt of invoice. Mimeographed: A mimeographed set of the tables listed may be secured free of charge upon request from the Department of Nutrition and Home Economics, Univer- sity of California, Berkeley 4, California. B-l. Availability of Fresh Fruits in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-2. Availability of Processed Fruits in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-3. Availability of Fresh Vegetables in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-4. Availability of Processed Vegetables in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-5. Availability of Processed Juices in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) \\ B-6. Number of Brands of Selected Processed Fruits in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-7. Number of Brands of Selected Processed Vegetables in Store Surveyed (Classi- fied by Type) B-8. Number of Brands of Selected Processed Juices in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-9. Number of Sizes of Containers for Selected Processed Fruits in Stores Sur- veyed (Classified by Type) \ B-10. Number of Sizes of Containers of Selected Processed Vegetables in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-ll. Number of Sizes of Containers for Selected Processed Juices in Stores Sur- veyed (Classified by Type) B-12. Display of Prices of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Store Surveyed (Classi- i fied by Type) B-13. Prices of Fresh Fruits in Store Surveyed (Classified by Type) 1 B-14. Prices of Processed Fruits in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-15. Prices of Fresh Vegetables in Store Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-16. Prices of Processed Vegetables in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-17. Prices of Processed Juices in Stores Surveyed (Classified by Type) B-18. Prices of Selected Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Prepackaged and in Bulk in 1 Si ores Surveyed (Classified by Type) J 11, '61 (C1051 )J.F.