The EPA’s April 2025 report puts the cost of edible food that goes uneaten at about $728 per consumer per year, or roughly $14 a week. For a household of four, that’s about $2,913 a year, around 11% of what the household spends on food.
The details
$728 per consumer per year, about $14 a week (EPA, April 2025).
$2,913 a year for a household of four, about $56 a week and roughly 11% of food spending.
The estimate combines USDA’s Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data for 2019 to 2023 with NielsenIQ prices from 2023.
A 2023 MITRE-Gallup study found that people who frequently toss leftovers waste about 12 cups of food a week, versus about 3.5 cups for people who rarely do. That’s behavioral research, not a claim about any product.
What it means at your table
The blue container had a future when you slid it onto the shelf. By Thursday it was evidence. A kid vetoed the remake before you finished the sentence, and you opened a new cart on top of food you’d already paid for. That’s leftovers with no shift on the calendar.
This week’s move
Give the eat-down its own night, and say it out loud like any other dinner: fried rice from the roast, soup from odds and ends, a stale-bread strata.
Foodoodle helps a household decide dinner together. It won’t cut your waste by a percentage or save you $728. It’s free during beta, no card, in your browser.
What’s the leftover your house always refuses? Tell us in the comments.