The ERS Food Expenditure Series annually measures total U.S. food expenditures, including purchases by consumers, governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. The ERS Food Expenditure Series contributes to the analysis of U.S. food production and consumption by constructing a comprehensive measure of the total value of all food expenditures by final purchasers. This series annually measures total U.S. food expenditures, including purchases by consumers, governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Because the term expenditure is often associated with household decisionmaking, it is important to recognize that ERS's series also includes nonhousehold purchases. For example, the series includes the dollar value of domestic food purchases by military personnel and their dependents at military commissary stores and exchanges, the value of commodities and food dollars donated by the Federal government to schools, and the value of food purchased by airlines for serving during flights.