Association between U.S. Household Food Waste and Food Inflation Flipped in 2022
Average household food waste in the United States averaged 473 grams per person per week during the non-holiday weeks of November and December in 2023, according to the most recent wave of the Ohio State/RECIPES tracking survey (blue bars, first graph). This was down by about 2% from the previous wave in the summer of 2023, but about 14% higher than the year previous. As can be seen in the first graph, the amount of waste (blue bars) tracks tightly with the percent of survey respondents who report “Eating Out Unexpectedly” as a reason for unusual amounts of food waste during their survey reporting week (orange line).
Others have documented the tendency for the amount of wasted food in a household to decline when prices are higher. Given the recent spikes in food prices, many have wondered if household food waste in the United States has declined because of higher food prices. In the second graph, we plot the U.S. Food Inflation Rate on the horizontal axis and the per-person edible waste level reported on the tracking survey on the vertical axis. Two distinct patterns emerge. During 2021 and early 2022, the correlation was unexpectedly positive (orange points) – higher waste occurred during waves when food price inflation was higher. Then, starting in the middle of 2022, the relationship flipped, turning to a more expected correlation where waste was lower during waves when food price inflation was higher (blue points). While we are unable to assign any causal interpretations to these data, the timing of the flip of the direction of the relationship does roughly align with a post-COVID “return to normal” with respect to dining out in the United States. Another possibility is that it took a few quarters of high food price inflation before people tightened up their kitchens and wasted less food in response to higher food prices.
A collaborative project of the Ohio State Food Waste Collaborative and the Multiscale RECIPES Sustainable Regional Systems Research Network (National Science Foundation Grant # 2115405), this triannual tracking survey monitors the types and amounts of food wasted by U.S. households in 24 distinct categories, and assesses other key aspects the household’s food environment such as shopping patterns, home-cooking frequency, and food storage.
- Publications featuring tracking survey data:
For more information, contact: Brian Roe (roe.30@osu.edu).
This dashboard currently only works on desktop. To view on mobile, users will need to download PowerBI.
July 2023
U.S. Household Food Waste Increases in Summer of 2023 Despite Hours of Effort
The average U.S. household reported 31% more wasted food during the summer of 2023 compared to the previous year, according to analysis of the summer 2023 wave of The Ohio State University/RECIPES National Household Food Waste Tracking Survey. The largest increases in waste occurred in the drinks and produce categories, though every category featured at least a modest increase over year previous. This wave of the survey also prompted to the respondents, who were members of the household with primary responsibility for food preparation, to assess how much time they spent undertaking food-related tasks during their reporting week and to estimate what fraction of that time was specifically dedicated to reducing the amount of food that becomes wasted (see figure below). The most time-consuming food-related tasks involve food preparation (about 6.5 hours/week) and kitchen cleaning (about 4 hours/week), while about 17% of food-related time was estimated to be spent on tasks that help reduce wasted food such as food planning and food storage activities.
February 2023
After a large year-over-year spike in self-reported food waste in the February 2022 wave, February 2023 household food waste has decreased. The February 2022 spike in waste corresponded to a large dip in the percent of home prepared meals and to respondents noting that, during the week they reported their waste, unusual levels of food waste were due to eating out unexpectedly (right panel). People reporting atypical waste due to unexpectedly eating out declined in February 2023 versus 2022 (right panel) as did unusual waste due to expired food from bulk or sale purchases. Despite this year-over-year decline in total household food waste, the February 2023 level of waste remains about twice as high as during early-ish COVID period of February 2021.
Notes: Based upon self-reported weekly levels of wasted food from samples of consumers surveyed throughout the United States and weighted post-hoc to reflect the national age, income, and household size profile. Data collection typically lasts 30-60 days per wave. Left panel: See horizontal axis labels for beginning month of each data collection wave and total sample size per wave. Wasted food omits items not typically consumed (bones, pits, etc.). Right panel: Respondents answers to the question “In the past 7 days, which of the following issues in your household may have affected the amount of food that you threw away? (Mark all that apply."
For core survey methodology, see Shu et al. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2021.101377). For peer-reviewed discussion of the first 4 waves of results see Li et al. (https://doi.org/10.1002/jaa2.59). Data from first four waves available at https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/33762da1c9eb20ba3e12d23fe73e67f7.
