The average American wastes about $728 of food a year, or $14 a week, according to EPA's April 2025 report. For a household of four, that's $2,913 a year, or $56 a week, and roughly 11 percent of what Americans spend on food.
By weight, it's about 256 pounds per person per year, or 1,025 pounds for four people. The often-quoted $1,500 per family is based on 2010 prices and is outdated.
The EPA 2025 numbers
| Measure | Per person | Household of four |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per year | $728 | $2,913 |
| Cost per week | $14 | $56 |
| Pounds wasted per year | 256 | 1,025 |
| Share of food spending | About 11% | About 11% |
EPA defines the cost of food waste as the price paid for the edible parts of food that isn't eaten, whether bought at a grocery store or a restaurant. The per-person figure uses USDA's Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data (2019–2023) and 2023 NielsenIQ retail prices. The household figure is simply four times the per-person figure. For comparison, USDA's Food Expenditure Series puts total food spending at roughly $27,477 a year for a four-person household, which is where the 11 percent comes from.
Want your own figure instead? The food waste cost calculator scales EPA's numbers to your household size, or adds up what you actually threw out this week.
What gets wasted, by weight and by cost
| Food group | Pounds per person | Cost per person |
|---|---|---|
| Meat | 25.6 | $133.48 |
| Other dairy (cheese, yogurt and more) | 17.8 | $74.32 |
| Processed fruit | 6.7 | $65.86 |
| Fish and seafood | 5.1 | $61.33 |
| Fresh vegetables | 31.0 | $59.49 |
| Added sugar and sweeteners | 37.0 | $57.66 |
| Poultry | 13.9 | $55.81 |
| Fresh fruit | 22.6 | $44.58 |
| Grain products | 31.0 | $42.41 |
| Processed vegetables | 16.0 | $39.35 |
| Added fats and oils | 14.8 | $37.75 |
| Fluid milk | 26.6 | $25.68 |
| Eggs | 6.8 | $20.07 |
| Tree nuts and peanuts | 1.3 | $10.34 |
| Total | 256.2 | $728.14 |
The heaviest waste isn't the most expensive. Added sugars and sweeteners are the most wasted by weight, but meat costs the most: about 10 percent of the pounds and 18 percent of the dollars. EPA points to meat and dairy as the biggest opportunities to save money. Fresh meat, soft cheese and yogurt also have some of the shortest fridge lives, which is where watching dates pays off.
Why the $1,500 figure is outdated
For years, campaigns quoted $1,500 a year for a family of four. EPA traces that number to a USDA analysis of 2010 prices (Buzby and colleagues, 2014), which found consumer food waste cost $371 per person, times four. EPA notes that the prices of many food categories have risen more than 50 percent since 2010, so the same waste costs more today. Its 2025 report was written in part so campaigns could swap in the updated figure.
How other estimates compare
Estimates of the cost of household food waste vary widely, mostly because they measure different things. EPA normalized the main published estimates to 2023 dollars and population:
| Estimate | Pounds per person | Cost per person (2023 $) | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buzby et al. (2014) | 290 | $496 | USDA LAFA data, 2010 prices |
| Venkat (2012) | 242 | $526 | USDA LAFA data, 2011 prices |
| EPA (2025) | 256 | $728 | USDA LAFA data, 2023 prices |
| ReFED (2025) | 208 | $780 | Intake and household survey data, retail prices |
| Yu and Jaenicke (2020) | Not reported | $857 | Economic model of household food use |
| Conrad (2020) | Not reported | $1,640 | National dietary intake survey (NHANES) |
EPA calls its own $728 conservative: it sits below the three most recent estimates, and it uses grocery prices even for food wasted at restaurants, which understates that part. The spread, $496 to $1,640, is a reminder that any single figure is an estimate.
The national picture
USDA estimates that 30–40 percent of the US food supply is wasted. That range rests on USDA Economic Research Service work finding that 31 percent of the food available at the retail and consumer levels in 2010, about 133 billion pounds worth an estimated $161.6 billion, went uneaten. EPA's summary is that over one-third of available food is never eaten.
These are different measurements from the household figures above. ERS's 31 percent includes food lost in grocery stores as well as by consumers, and uses 2010 prices; EPA's household figures cover consumer waste only, at home and when eating out.
How much comes down to date labels
FDA's 2019 letter to the food industry says “it has been estimated that confusion over date labeling accounts for approximately 20 percent of consumer food waste,” citing ReFED. ReFED puts it at about three billion pounds of food a year, worth $7 billion.
A national survey released in February 2025 by ReFED, Harvard Law School's Food Law and Policy Clinic and Johns Hopkins found:
| Finding | 2025 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Always or usually throw out food near or past the label date | 43% | 37% |
| Do so at least occasionally | 88% | 84% |
| Mistakenly think the federal government regulates date label phrases | 44% | 36% |
| Believed they knew what date labels meant (average of eight labels) | 87% | — |
| Answered correctly when quizzed (average) | 53% | — |
The gap between the last two rows is the problem in a nutshell. Most date labels are about quality, not safety; the date labels guide explains each one.
The cheapest waste to cut is food you forgot you had. FreshScan scans the date on each package and reminds you before it arrives, whether it's a pack of steaks or a tub of yogurt.
Free on theApp StoreReading these numbers carefully
- Households aren't four average people. EPA scales its per-person number by four, but notes that research finds waste per person tends to fall as household size rises, while households with children, higher income or more education tend to waste more.
- Availability, not measurement. USDA's LAFA data estimates waste from the food supply and loss factors, not by weighing any household's trash.
- Edible food only. EPA's cost figure leaves out peels, bones and other inedible parts.
- Different years, different prices. Compare dollar figures only after adjusting for the price year, as EPA's table does.
If you want to cut your own number, the practical steps are in how to reduce food waste at home.
Questions people ask
How much food does the average family of four waste?
EPA's April 2025 estimate is about 1,025 pounds of food a year for a household of four, worth about $2,913, or $56 a week. EPA gets there by multiplying its per-person estimate (256 pounds, $728) by four.
Is the $1,500 a year figure still accurate?
No. EPA says the widely cited $1,500 for a family of four is based on a USDA analysis of 2010 prices, and that the prices of many food categories have risen more than 50 percent since then. EPA's 2025 replacement figure is $2,913.
What food do households waste the most?
By weight, added sugars and sweeteners, fresh vegetables, grain products and fluid milk top EPA's 2025 list. By cost, meat is the biggest at about $133 per person per year, followed by dairy products other than milk.
How much food waste is caused by confusing date labels?
FDA cites an estimate that confusion over date labeling accounts for about 20 percent of consumer food waste. ReFED estimates that date label confusion leads US consumers to throw away about three billion pounds of food a year, worth $7 billion.
Sources
- Estimating the Cost of Food Waste to American Consumers (April 2025) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Preventing Wasted Food at Home — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Confusion Over Food Date Labels Has Grown, According to New National Survey (February 27, 2025) — ReFED, with Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
- Letter to industry supporting "Best if Used By" (May 23, 2019) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Tips to Reduce Food Waste — U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- The Estimated Amount, Value, and Calories of Postharvest Food Losses at the Retail and Consumer Levels in the United States (EIB-121, 2014) — USDA Economic Research Service
- Food Waste FAQs — U.S. Department of Agriculture