At Last, A Beneficiary Of High Gasoline Prices

When the average household economizes by eating out less often, this generally doesn’t mean its members consume less food. So, how do they take up the slack created by the reduction in restaurant meals? A new study by Information Resources Inc. points to the obvious-but-overlooked answer: They buy more food at the store. The research firm looked at sales for various packaged-goods categories as gasoline prices rose earlier in the year. When a gallon of gas exceeded $2 in the spring, packaged-goods sales rose 2.5