Each year, an estimated 40% of the food supply goes to waste in the US; that’s over 136 billion pounds, worth approximately $218 billion. That works out at 417.8lb of wasted food, worth $666, for every American, each year. The average household (2.63 people) produces food waste to the value of $1,752.
The government have set their own goals to reduce the food waste which we produce as a nation, however there’s a level of responsibility on us all to do what we can to help combat the issue.
We’ve been busy researching the food waste problem in the US to launch our brand new food waste calculator, allowing you to work out just how much money your household wastes each year on thrown away food and how this compares to the US average. We also reveal the total level of food waste across each US state and the 100 most populous cities, as well as showcasing the expected value of thrown away food this Thanksgiving.
That's $ per person, which is % than the average American.
When broken down by state, we ultimately see California producing the highest level of food waste, at a value of more than a staggering $26 billion every year. How does your state compare?
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When we break the data down to city level, we see New Yorkers producing a collective food waste each year worth more than $4 billion, followed by Los Angeles in the second spot at just under $4 billion. How does your city compare to the USA’s 150 biggest cities?
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Thanksgiving is a time for getting together to celebrate with family and start the Holiday season, but it’s also a day when Americans produce a shocking amount of food waste. Based on a classic Thanksgiving menu prepared from scratch at home; here’s how much the food waste produced on this one day alone is valued at...
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With the average US household wasting an estimated $1,7352 worth of food each and every year, it’s important that we each do our bit to minimise this as much as possible.
Aside from this, the organic matter that goes to landfill is estimated to produce more than 20% of all methane emissions, a key contributor to global climate change.
All whilst 41 million Americans, including 13 million children, face hunger.
It’s time to do your bit.
Here’s 5 quick and easy ways to do your bit and reduce your own home’s food waste.
Shopping smart, small and often helps to reduce waste by ensuring you’re not buying more fresh food than you can realistically consume. Plan meals in advance and carefully write a shopping list, disciplining yourself to stick to it.
Get yourself into a habit of not serving portions larger than you’ll eat by using smaller plates. If you’re not cooking, and therefore, serving, more food than you’ll consume; you’ll quickly start to reduce your waste food.
However hard you try, you’ll struggle to eliminate leftovers from your household completely, and that’s fine; so long as they’re not being unnecessarily thrown away. Be sure to save leftovers and incorporate these into your daily, or weekly, meals.
Keeping a written record of the food you’re wasting can be a real motivator to help you further reduce waste in the future, especially when you add in dollars. You’ll quickly start to notice trends which can help you plan meals, and shopping, a little better.
Whether for cosmetic reasons, being off-spec, excess inventory, undervalued or simply in the wrong packaging; there's a whole host of reasons why food gets classed as ‘imperfect.’
Consider shopping with Imperfect Foods to save up to 30% on your groceries and do your bit to reduce food waste