Victorian households bin $5.4bn worth of food a year, survey finds

VICTORIAN families are throwing out a shocking amount of wasted food each year — with new research revealing the worst confessed culprits.

FAMILIES are throwing out bucketloads of wasted food each year — and many say their children are to blame.

New research estimates Victorian households squander an average $2136 worth of food and drink annually, the equivalent of $5.4 billion statewide.

A survey for Sustainability Victoria has found young shoppers and those with dependent children are among the worst confessed culprits.

Two in five parents living with children aged up to 16 believed kids were responsible for most food being binned.

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The average household throws away more than $2000 a year worth of food, according to research. Picture: ThinkStock

Sustainability Victoria campaign manager Kellie Watson said: “People lead really busy lives and plans change due to things such as after-school activities which can lead to food in the fridge not being used

“Smarter shopping can be achieved through planning the week’s meals, writing a list, and eating what has been bought.

“Significant savings can be made when households check what food they have before shopping, freeze food, store food correctly, and save leftovers for later.”

Leftovers, fresh vegetables and fruit, bakery goods, and dairy products were most commonly ditched, the research found.

Adults aged up to 23 estimated household food waste at a whopping $115 a week on average. That compared with just $11 a week for the eldest respondents.

A Love Food Hate Waste, Love A List campaign launched today (TUES) at www.lovefoodhatewaste.vic.gov.au/love-a-list encourages households to join a challenge to cut waste. It includes a short film that tracks the experience of three families.

The Krivanek family: Josh, 15, Rob, Monique, 6, and Rachel have taken on a challenge to reduce food waste. Picture: Josie Hayden

Rachel Krivanek, who appears in the documentary, said discovering how much their household was wasting was “a bit humbling and humiliating”.

“It was mainly bread and fresh produce, like bananas going brown or strawberries going mouldy before we’d touched the punnet,” she said.

“I always take a shopping list now, and for fresh food we’re buying that twice a week as we need it, instead of one bulk buy.”

Many surveyed people said they regularly tried to take some actions to reduce waste.

But only one in four wrote a meal plan for at least four days of the week, according to the online poll of 1000 adults.

And one-third often or always bought food not on their shopping list.

The survey found nine in 10 people felt some level of guilt about turfing food.

Women felt worse about it than men.

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@KarenCollierHS