The summer season ahead will see many backyard parties among friends and neighbors. In addition to grilled chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs, there will be baked beans and potato chips, often joined by a salad. Most grocery stores now carry a wide variety of greens, where some years ago, the standard all across America was iceberg lettuce. This variety is noted in May, as it’s National Salad Month. Annually, Americans eat an average of around 12 pounds of lettuce, 21 of onions, 12 pounds of peppers, nearly 10 of carrots, and 87 pounds of tomatoes. To flavor the salads, 31,000 Americans work in the mayonnaise, seasonings, dressings, and prepared sauce industry’s 731 manufacturers. You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy from the American Community Survey at <www.census.gov>.