- Teenagers devour more than $50k worth of food between the ages of 13-19
- $142 per week is the typical cost of feeding one teenager
- A third of parents say their teen is a ‘bottomless pit’
- Parents are bracing for summer vacation - teen snacking goes up 50% versus a school day
- Study of 2,000 parents of teens conducted by Farm Rich, one of the nation’s leading frozen snacks and appetizer brands
Hungry teens are home for the summer - and parents might want to brace themselves for a bumper grocery bill…
That’s after new research finds the average parents spend an incredible $51,790 in footing the bill to feed a ravenous teenager from the ages of 13 to 19.
And the slightly bad news for parents? A teenager’s snacking goes up 50 percent more in the summer months when they’re home. Time to stock those pantries and freezers!
The survey of 2,000 parents of kids between ages 13 and 19, conducted by Farm Rich, one of the nation’s leading frozen snacks and appetizer brands, found $142 is the typical total food bill for a single teen each week.
There’s a lot of time and effort that goes into supplying this food. Moms and dads average 1 hour and 33 minutes per week on planning, buying and preparing meals, with this going up by as much as 25 percent in the summer as they go the extra mile to battle the seemingly insatiable appetites of teenagers.
No wonder then that 1 in 3 parents say their teen can only be described as a ‘bottomless pit’ when it comes to their appetite.
And the non-stop need for these growing men and women baffles even their own parents…three quarters admit they don’t know how their teen devours as much food as they do.
In keeping up with the requests for food, parents make three trips to the grocery store per week – buying a third more food in the summer months when the kids are off school and more regularly scrounging for snacks.
And parents beware, hangriness is very real and it shows in the form of four hunger-related mood-swings which hit the average teen every week.
Teens will be teens. Among parents, 57 percent admit their child is ‘quick to grumble’ about what’s available at home for them to eat. In fact, it takes just an average of 4.5 minutes for a teen to start getting annoyed about not finding something they want in the house.
Five times per week a teen will ask: ‘What’s for dinner?’ and three times per week they’ll conclude: ‘There’s NOTHING to eat in the house!’
Perhaps then it’s no surprise that 58 percent of parents have admitted to having given in and ordered takeout or delivery when their teen refused to eat any meal or snack options that were already at home.
“Feeding teenagers can sometimes be a mental and financial challenge, particularly in summertime when kids are around the house more,” said Shannon Gilreath, Director of Marketing, Farm Rich. “It’s no wonder parents can feel frustrated, with tensions rising at times, so stocking up on their kids’ favorite foods is just one way to help.”
83 percent of parents make a point of stocking up on food when summer approaches to keep their voracious teen happily fed, with pizza being the foodstuff kids are most likely to dive into while at home, followed by fruit and vegetables and cereal.
But it’s not always easy to come up with a host of food ideas, and understandably 75 percent of parents say they simply run out of inspiration sometimes when it comes to providing snacks and meals for the family.
More than 64 percent of teens regularly skip breakfast according to the stats, but that might be due to the fact that two thirds are more likely to raid the kitchen at night.
Gilreath added: “Keeping lots of easy and wholesome foods around the house not only encourages teens to make their own meals and snacks, but also frees up time for busy parents – which helps make everybody happy!”
TOP 10 FOODS TEENS DEVOUR MOST AT HOME
- Pizza
- Fruit / Vegetables
- Cereal
- Ice Cream
- Potato Chips
- Chicken Fingers/Strips/Nuggets
- Mac & Cheese
- Spaghetti
- French Fries
- Pancakes/Waffles
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