Food Retailer, Restaurant, and Online Grocery Shopping Use and Household Food Waste: Evidence from U.S. Households in 2022

Abstract

ABSTRACT In United States (U.S.) household food waste, which is generated in part from food purchased from food retailers, is believed to be a major contributor to national food waste. Understanding the relationship between household food shopping behavior and food waste is important for developing food waste reduction programs, particularly given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on households’ use of online grocery shopping and restaurants. Data from a sample of U.S. households in 2022 was analyzed using probit regression for the probability of any household food waste and a log-linear regression for mean household food waste, conditional on any food waste. This study found that online grocery shopping was associated with greater quantities of food waste overall and specifically fruit and vegetable waste. We also find the use of restaurants was associated with greater food waste, while short planning durations for grocery shopping were associated with less food waste.