Why Americans throw away $165B in groceries every year

Even though there is enough food produced on the planet to feed everyone, 805 million people worldwide go hungry. In America, one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, one in seven people don’t have enough food to eat. Part of the problem is the enormous amount of wasted food. But the rising cost of certain staple foods is also a contributor. If you want to keep the cost of groceries down, you may want to choose alternatives to the most expensive foods and learn to reduce waste.

Rising Cost of Staple Foods

In the last few years, a number of factors have caused the price of several meats to rise. USA Today reports that drought is making cattle scarce, disease has diminished pork availability and the cost of usually cheaper poultry is rising because of increased demand. Unusually cold temperatures in Florida are driving up the price of citrus fruits, and other fruits are also rising in cost due to the California drought.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we’ve seen significant increases in the costs of these foods:

• Beef: Steak is up 5.2 percent year-over-year, rising from $6.34 per pound in August 2013 to $7 per pound as of August 2014. Other beef products (not including veal) rose 3.1 percent, from $4.06 per pound to $4.47.
• Pork: The average cost of ham has gone up 5 percent from $2.91 per pound last year to $3.28. Other pork products rose from $2.55 per pound to $3.14.
• Poultry: Although the cost of turkey has decreased, the cost of a whole chicken rose 5.2 percent from $1.49 per pound to $1.57.
• Fruits: Lemons rose the most in cost, increasing 12 percent since last year, from $1.71 per pound to $2.33. Orange prices were also up significantly, rising 5.5 percent from $1.38 per pound to $1.47. Strawberries have also increased, likely due to the droughts in California, where the most U.S. strawberries are produced. They have gone up from $1.92 per dry pint to $1.97.

Choosing Cheaper Foods

By avoiding the most costly foods, families can cut their grocery bills significantly. The cost of turkey has gone down over the past two years and the cost of chicken parts (as opposed to whole chicken) has increased less sharply. Ground chuck is the most affordable form of fresh beef, while bacon and pork chops are the least expensive form of pork. Choosing these foods can take a big bite out of your grocery bill.

Obviously, the number of people in your family affects the food budget too. The USDA offers several figures on the cost to feed a family, depending on its size and based on four different budgets. Use this chart to help you decide how much you should spend on food.

Reducing Waste

The National Resource Defense Council points out that 90 percent of Americans throw away food unnecessarily. The culprit is a confusing system of food dating that leads them to believe perfectly good food is no longer fit for consumption. The Council estimates that 40 percent of the food produced in America is never actually eaten. For tight food budgets, this waste exacerbates the problem.

The most important way to cut food costs could be to stop throwing away food because you are confused about the date on the package. There are no national standards for food dating, so we have to rely on manufacturers to give accurate information.

The only reliable date specifically states “expiration date.” Labels such as “use by,” “best before” and “sell by” have no direct correlation to food safety. In those cases, you need to use your nose and your eyes to see if food is still good. Of course, if there is doubt, you must throw it out. Just take the time to use your senses instead of paying attention to ambiguous package dates.

Other ways to cut food waste include:

• Check your cupboards: Take five minutes before you shop to see what you already have at home.
• Plan for leftovers: When planning meals, have a plan for a second meal to be made with the uneaten food or leftover ingredients not used in the recipe.
• Eat out less often: Restaurant portions are often very large — so large that one person cannot possibly eat the full meal. Consider cooking at home as much as possible to keep meal sizes reasonable. If you decide to eat out anyway, plan to take home leftovers and serve them as another meal at home.

Think about this: Americans throw out about 25 percent of the food they buy. So eliminating waste is like getting a 25 percent discount every time you shop. When combined with making economical food choices, you’ll save even more.