Historically, during a recession consumers tend to eat less healthy foods, as fast food restaurants ramp up promotions and dollar menus. A common misconception is that purchasing healthier food products is more expensive. Not the case with this recession. In fact, the opposite is happening. Consumers are becoming more creative and resourceful in their shopping habits and actually eating healthier.

According to a recent benchmarking survey titled “The Economy & Your Food Shopping Habits” conducted by SupermarketGuru.com on behalf of ConAgra foods, two out of three (67%) of consumers  “strongly agree” that they try to prepare healthy meals. That’s 10 percentage points higher than the identical questionnaire found when initially fielded in January 2009.

Information from the article: Consumers eat Healthier and Save in the Recession from SupermarketGuru.com suggests that “nine out of ten (90%) ’strongly/somewhat agree’ that meals prepared at home tend to healthier than those eaten out, up three percentage points from one survey to the next.  Further tipping the scales in favor of home eating is its relative economy:  73% “strongly agree” that eating at home can save a lot of money, up a full six percentage points from the January survey. Far fewer people agree today (33%) that eating out is worth it, even if it costs more and isn’t as healthy, than in January (40%).  And nearly half (48%) say now that nothing prevents them from eating healthy foods, up from 38% in January.”

Based on this survey and these findings, it’s hard to argue that consumers aren’t changing their shopping and eating habits. This is certainly good news for gourmet and specialty retail food companies that are producing and marketing foods with added health benefits.