Behavioral impacts on residential food provisioning, use, and waste during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruptions to food systems, leading to both food shortages and food waste across the supply chain. These disruptions have, in turn, altered how people consume and then ultimately discard food. To better understand these impacts, their underlying drivers, and their sustainability implications, this study surveyed U.S. consumers about food purchasing, use, and waste behaviors during the pandemic. Survey respondents reported an increase in overall food purchases and a slight decrease in food waste generation due to the pandemic, but the linkages between these outcomes and underlying behaviors were complex. For instance, reduced household food waste was significantly correlated with an increase in behaviors such as meal planning, preserving foods, and using leftovers and shelf-stable items. On the other hand, behaviors aimed at self-sufficiency, including bulk purchasing and stockpiling, were significantly correlated with increased food purchase, which in turn led to increased waste. Results may offer insight for future resource and waste management strategies. For example, over 60% of respondents who started or increased efficient food use behaviors stated an intent to continue these activities after the pandemic. In contrast, less than 10% of respondents reported that they began or increased separating or composting food waste during the pandemic, and many stopped altogether due to suspension of local curbside composting services. Findings suggest that it may be easier to shift food consumption and use behaviors but more challenging to alter food waste separation behaviors, particularly those influenced by external factors, such as infrastructure that may be vulnerable to disruption. Identifying ways to facilitate ongoing behavior change and foster robust food waste management systems can contribute to resilience of food systems now and once the immediate threat of the pandemic has subsided.

Impact of COVID-19 on Food and Plastic Waste Generated by Consumers in Bangkok

“…In looking at the categories of food that have been purchased and disposed, it is clear that people have consumed more fruits, fresh vegetables, and meat than usual [25][26][27]. The total amount of food purchased, especially canned goods and frozen foods, also increased, as people may have experienced fear or anxiety about logistical systems as a result of food shortages [19,25,28]. Similar trends have been confirmed in Bangkok as well (see Section 4.3.2).…”

“…U.S. (New York State) [25] Internet-based survey (n = 300) conducted in August 2020 containing 20 questions on household purchases and food waste between mid-March and mid-July 2020.…”

“…(1) The pandemic has had an impact on people's awareness towards health, as they have shown greater concern about nutritional balance. In looking at the categories of food that have been purchased and disposed, it is clear that people have consumed more fruits, fresh vegetables, and meat than usual [25][26][27]. The total amount of food purchased, especially canned goods and frozen foods, also increased, as people may have experienced fear or anxiety about logistical systems as a result of food shortages [19,25,28].…”

Assessment of household food waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia: a cross-sectional online survey

“…Many consumers have embraced thriftiness and cut down on food waste during the coronavirus crisis. Several researches, in Italy (Principato et al 2020), the USA (Babbitt et al 2021;Rodgers et al 2021), the UK (Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP) 2020), Russia (Ben Hassen et al 2021a), Japan (Qian et al 2020), Tunisia (Jribi et al 2020), Lebanon (Ben Hassen et al 2021b), Mexico (Vargas-Lopez et al 2021), or Qatar (Ben Hassen et al 2020) revealed that household food waste decreased. In fact, during the pandemic, households adopted a wide range of positive food management strategies, such as more pre-shop planning (e.g., making a list), better inhome food storage, and creative approaches to cooking/prep (e.g., batch cooking and using up leftovers).…”

Waste management beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Bibliometric and text mining analyses

“… Babbitt et al, 2021 , Chen et al, 2021a , Chen et al, 2021b , de Aguiar Hugo et al, 2021 , Leal Filho et al, 2021 , Makrides et al,2021 , Ranjbari et al, 2021a , Rehman and ur, Khalid, U., , 2021 , Shevchenko et al, 2021a .…”