Another Reason to Stop Wasting Food

We talk a lot about food waste and the battle we have in feeding Americans. A new survey from hloom asked 2,000 people about their financial and food dilemma. They found that people believe that food is at the root of their overall financial woes. 

Almost 69 percent of those surveyed said that eating out was the top money waster they would be willing to reduce, followed by one quarter of the group who blamed alcohol as the number two. These far exceeded items like credit card interest, `clothes, electricity, and even gambling. Of the ways folks waste money that they’re not willing to change, throwing out expired foods was number one and wasting bucks on groceries was number two.  

So we have to wonder: what is it about food that makes us so passionate about waste, when these other things don’t even come close to being blamed? 

We love food. We need it to exist. So why the blame? Perhaps it is about the amount of choices we have? How going into a supermarket that has over 40,000 different foods and beverages is daunting and lures us into buying things that we will never consume. Or a restaurant menu that offers us dishes we have never heard of, but sound so interesting that we just have to order them. And then there are the portion sizes that are way too big, and we don’t take home the doggie bags. 

Some states are far guiltier of food waste it than others. The survey found that the states that dine out more often are also the ones to contribute more to food waste. New Englanders who feel least like they waste money on dining out also waste significantly less food at home and on groceries. The states that waste the most are found in the southeastern U.S., including Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.