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Free tool · EPA and USDA benchmarks

Food Waste Cost Calculator

The average US consumer loses $728 a year to food that never gets eaten. Answer three questions and see what your own habits are likely costing you.

✓ Fact-checkedMads BukholtBy Mads BukholtUpdated August 17, 2026

What does your food waste cost?

Three quick questions about your habits, one honest dollar estimate, benchmarked against EPA and USDA figures.

dollars per week, edit to match your receipts
0%
0a year

Per month
Equal to
meal kit dinners for your household, at the roughly $10 per serving average we track
Open model: waste is set to 5, 12, or 20 percent of your grocery spend based on your answers, in line with the range official estimates describe. USDA puts food waste at 30 to 40 percent of the US food supply; the EPA estimates the average consumer loses $728 a year to wasted food, about $2,913 for a household of four. An estimate, not an audit.
How meal kits change the waste math

Benchmarks: USDA Food Waste FAQ (30 to 40 percent of the US food supply) and EPA, Estimating the Cost of Food Waste to American Consumers, April 2025 ($728 per person per year). Your spend input stays on this page and is not stored.

How the estimate works

The model is deliberately simple and fully open. Your three habit answers place your household in one of three waste bands: 5 percent if you plan, keep leftovers, and shop from a list; 12 percent for average habits; 20 percent if dinners are improvised and leftovers usually lose. The band is multiplied by the weekly grocery spend you enter, and nothing else.

The bands are conservative next to the official numbers. USDA estimates 30 to 40 percent of the entire US food supply goes uneaten, and the EPA's April 2025 consumer study puts the average cost at $728 per person per year, about $56 a week for a family of four. If your result above feels high, the benchmarks say it is more likely low.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much money does the average US household lose to food waste?
The EPA's April 2025 report puts it at $728 per consumer per year, which works out to $2,913 for a household of four, about $56 every week. USDA separately estimates that 30 to 40 percent of the US food supply is never eaten.
Do meal kits reduce food waste?
Pre-portioned ingredients remove the biggest household waste driver: buying more than you cook. You still pay for the portions you order, so the win depends on skipping weeks you will not cook. Our guide on food waste and meal kits covers the evidence.
Is my grocery spend stored anywhere?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to us or stored.