Preventing Consumer Food Waste: Developing and Evaluating Household-Level Interventions

Project Title

Preventing Consumer Food Waste: Developing and Evaluating Household-Level Interventions

Funding Dates

1/1/2023—12/31/2025

Description

About one-third of all food produced is not consumed, leading to food waste. Food waste occurs throughout the supply chain, but about half of all food waste takes place at the consumer level. Preventing Consumer Food Waste: Developing and Evaluating Household-Level Interventions will investigate reasons why consumers waste food and explore strategies to help households reduce and prevent food waste. The study will explore consumer food waste across six stages: planning, shopping, storage, cooking, consumption, and disposal. In each stage, researchers will also examine attitudes toward food waste, social norms, and demographic and socioeconomic factors.

Further, recognizing the financial impact of food waste, the researchers will also explore how reducing food waste can improve food security in low-income households. Low-income and food-insecure households may face unique barriers to reducing food waste, such as limited availability of grocery stores and time scarcity. At the same time, these households may experience financial benefits and increased food security if they are able to reduce their food waste.

Preventing Consumer Food Waste: Developing and Evaluating Household-Level Interventions will engage community stakeholders and develop a scalable and sustainable intervention for preventing household food waste. The study will contribute to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) goal of halving U.S. household food waste.

Research Areas

Health Equity
Healthy Food Access
Additional Topics

Principal Investigator

Lindsey Smith Taillie, PhD
Alice Ammerman, DrPH

Funding

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)