Retirees are storing fewer foods at home

Some cupboards are barer.

Retirees are keeping fewer foods in their kitchens than folks their age did a decade ago, a new study shows.

People ages 65 and older have an average of 221 food items in their pantries, refrigerators and freezers. That's down from 244 in 2005, according to a survey of all the foods and beverage on hand in 2,900 households. It was conducted by the NPD Group, a market research firm that tracks eating trends.

By comparison, people ages 25 to 34 have an average of 188 food items, a number that has remained about the same over the past few years.

Older adults are much more likely to have pork and beans and canned beets in the pantry than younger adults. Those 25 to 34 are more likely to have flour tortillas and tortilla chips.

There are lots of possible explanations for the drop in food items among the retirement-age group, says Harry Balzer, NPD chief industry analyst.

Retirees are eating out more. Those over the age of 65 bought an average of 193 meals each at restaurants last year, up from 171 in 2009, according to NPD's latest data.

They may be trying to save money by not be restocking with as many items, he says. "So instead of having 10 bottles of salad dressing, they think they can do fine with three." In some cases, people accumulate food items and don't even realize they have them, Balzer says. "They may have used corn starch once and forgotten it's in their pantry."

And these folks may not have the Great Depression-mentality, so they don't feel like they have to have a lot of food on hand "in case of the next economic meltdown," he says. "The Great Depression is long over as Baby Boomers join the retired ranks and store less food in their homes."

The older generation stocks different foods than the younger set:

• Folks who are 65 and older are more likely to have these five items in their kitchen than those 25 to 34: whole cloves, lemon extract, canned or jarred beets, green olives and canned pork and beans.

• Those ages 25 to 34 are more likely to have these five foods in their kitchen than those 65 and older: flour tortillas, tortilla chips, pre-sweetened cereal, frozen chicken nuggets and meat rubs.

How many food items people over 65 have in their house*

2005: 244

2008: 230

2011: 225

2014: 221

*These are foods stored in the pantry, refrigerator or freezer. The number includes spices.

Source: NPD Group