Photo illustration by Erik R. Bishoff
BY JARED PABEN
NEWS EDITOR
Whether it’s a vice or simply
living easy, Americans are
doing a lot of it.
Eating out has become a
multi-billion-dollar business in the
United States. So many Americans
enjoy eating out that the nation’s
900,000 restaurants are projected to
haul in $476 billion in sales this
year and have an economic impact
of $1.2 trillion, according to the
National Restaurant Association’s
2005 Restaurant Industry Forecast.
And whether it’s because more
Americans are eating out, or
because Americans are eating out
more, the nation’s commercial
kitchens are expected to be even
busier this year — projected sales
are a full 4.9 percent higher than
last year’s. That averages to
$1,610.95 for every American this
year, enough to buy about 332 large
Big Mac meals for every American,
or almost enough for one each day
for a year.
To the Oregon Restaurant
Association these numbers mean
a booming economy, families
spending time together and less
time cooking and cleaning up.
To others, eating out a lot means
spending too much money and
eating foods that aren’t as healthy
as home-cooked meals.
ORA spokeswoman Elizabeth
Peters said the impacts of the restau
rant industry on Oregon’s economy are
hard to miss. In the state, about
110,000 people are employed by
restaurants, not including support in
dustries, making it the No. 1 private
sector employer in the state..
“Every time you go out to eat
you’re having an impact on the
economy,” she said.
Peters said an obvious advantage
to eating at a restaurant is not hav
ing to cook and clean up, which is
well suited for the busy lifestyles of
college students.
According to the NRA, 72 percent
of adults say carry-out meals and
delivery give them more time to
spend on other activities and are a
better use of time than cooking and
cleaning up.
“We’re finding that more and
more Americans are welcoming
(the chance) to spend time with
their family, rather than cooking
and cleaning up,” Peters said.
Peters said eating out can
cost more than eating at home,
depending on the food one cooks at
home. This is because when you eat
out, you’re paying not only for the
product, but for everyone who
was involved in the delivery and
preparation of the product.
Forty-three percent of adults said
eating out is as cost-effective as
Convienence ranks as a
top choice for eating out,
but it can be expensive
and unhealthy for those
who make it a habit
cooking and cleaning up at home,
according to the NRA.
University Health ' Educator
Kristen Olmos is one of the 57
percent who don’t see eating out as
cost effective.
It may seem like students are
spending more money when they
go to the grocery store and stock up,
but in reality that food will make
more meals than one would get
spending that same money eating
out, she said.
“It is way more expensive to
eat your meals away from home,”
Olmos said.
University students also pointed
to the high cost of eating out on a
regular basis.
“A good amount of my money
every month goes to food and
eating out,” junior Zach Payne said.
Payne said eating out is more
convenient because he doesn’t have
a car and can’t easily get to the
grocery store.
University sophomore Lilly Harris
said she often eats at home because
she gets food stamps, but she does
eat out for lunch. She occasionally
packs a lunch, saving herself as
much as $25 per week that would
otherwise go toward eating out.
She did say that the convenience
of eating out can make it appealing.
“It’s easier. You don’t have to
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