Ditching the drive-thru - the unexpected reason many are passing on fast food

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Do you eat as much fast food as you once did? There's a growing trend away from meal convenience and Pennsylvania is near the top of the states leading the trend.

I'm guessing you are probably thinking the reason for this was what I thought it was - and soon I learned nope, that's not it.

How many meals have you eaten behind the wheel or in the passenger seat of a car? It's just kind of our generation's way of life but that is changing.

"Nearly two-thirds of our respondents are intentionally reducing their fast food consumption," said Bryant Baucom of Richfield Research. "Eighty-three percent of the respondents from Pennsylvania said they have intentionally cut their fast food consumption in the past year, ranking behind California and Texas."

Richfield Research did the study and Baucom said the reason for people rejecting the drive-thru bag might not be the one you'd expect.

"So 51% of our respondents cited money as the main reason for cutting back on their fast food consumption," he explained. "Around 21% cited health reasons, and 16% were just citing a declining quality of product."

As for the number of meals involved, Baucom said that 63% of respondents cut back from three meals or more per week from fast food restaurants.

"Cooking from home or the more popular meal kit options," Baucom said have taken the place of the quick, easy fast food meal.

However, when it comes to pricing and deals, there are two places Baucom found to still be popular for wallets.

"Taco Bell and Wendy's were the two top restaurants where people thought they were really getting the best bang for their buck," he said. "On the inverse, McDonald's and KFC were the two restaurants where they felt like paying more was not really matching what they were getting."

He also said that those meal deals the restaurants offer are only drawing about 17% of respondents back. In fact, a third didn't even know there were meal deals.

So basically, it's money - not health - that's prompting people to cook at home. By quite a lot, too. As he put it, among the 3,000 people surveyed, it is becoming increasingly more challenging to spend more money on food they view as not improving in quality.