More Broke People, More Cheap Eats: Report

Sure, it’s the new year, but being broke is nothing new for many Americans, who will continue to seek cheap food as they expect to grow poorer and poorer according to a new, depressing report.

The just-released Food Flavors and Ingredients Outlook 2012, Ninth Edition — a manual used by industry insiders to predict trends — suggests that many Americans have cut back on essential food spending and strongly rely upon coupons to make ends meet, according to a statement posted on MarketWatch.

People also are doing more paycheck-cycle-style shopping. They tend to go to the supermarket right after getting paid and stock up lots of items, as they’re concerned that about running out of money and being unable to buy adequate amounts of groceries.

Parents have also started to spend less money on kids’ food.

This doesn’t usually happen in recessions, but appears to be taken place in the current economic downturn.

Food companies have also decided to start ignoring the middle class, since it’s shrinking. Instead, they will target their products to the growing ranks of the poor and über-rich.