A lidded container sits on the second shelf, last night’s dinner folded into it, and the choice at lunchtime is simple: eat it or let it drift to the back until it becomes a science project. A new survey from the nonprofit ReFED suggests that eating it is the habit most closely tied to wasting less.
In a January 2026 survey of 1,000 U.S. households run with YouGov, ReFED found that using leftovers more often was the habit most tied to reporting less wasted food among households whose grocery spending had risen. Those households were 19.6% more likely to report wasting less food when they used leftovers more often than before, according to ReFED’s report. Choosing smaller packages (11.3%) and freezing food or planning meals more closely (9.9% each) also showed links.
Leftovers Lead the List at 19.6%
The ReFED report looked at which behaviors households said they were doing more often because of food prices, then tested which of them lined up with reporting less waste. Of 560 households that reported spending more on groceries because of prices, six of twelve behavior shifts showed a statistically significant link, even after accounting for the other changes households were making.
Using leftovers more often showed the largest link, at +19.6%, with a p-value of .004, ReFED said. Looking for sales and deals more often came in at +14.9% and cooking more instead of eating out at +11.2%, though the sales figure had a weaker statistical footing at p=.051.
ReFED stressed that these are associations. The report says the analysis does not establish causation, and the authors describe the survey as a snapshot rather than a tracker of households over time.
Thanksgiving week is when leftovers crowd the refrigerator. Frenz Hub’s list of 14 strange Thanksgiving traditions covers holiday table customs, and the leftover container after the meal is a ritual of its own.
Smaller Packages, Freezing and Meal Planning Also Show Links
Choosing smaller quantities or packages came in at +11.3%, and ReFED said the link was significant at p=.011. Freezing food more often and planning meals more closely each landed at +9.9%, though the report says those relationships are smaller and supported by weaker statistical evidence.
The freezer is an everyday tool for the leftovers habit. Frenz Hub has a guide to freezing fresh green beans, and its list of 20 essential items to store in the refrigerator covers the cold-shelf side of the same routine.
The authors also noted that these habits work together. Each additional behavior a household reported doing more often was tied to roughly 8% higher probability of reporting less waste among households whose spending rose, and about 11% among those whose spending fell. A household making three changes was at least 24% more likely to report wasting less than one making none, ReFED said.
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A Small Group Put Meal Planning First
The ranking flips in one corner of the data. Among the 72 households whose grocery spending fell, ReFED reported that planning meals more closely was linked to a 53.0% higher likelihood of reporting less waste, and using leftovers more often to 36.7%. Meal planning led that group, and leftovers came second.
ReFED cautioned that 72 households is a small group and that the findings are indicative. The survey cannot tell whether financial pressure pushed those households toward the habits, or whether less waste helped lower their grocery bills. Both explanations are plausible, the report says.
For readers building the habit, a plan starts at the store. A partner site looked at five traits of people who never shop without a written list, and another covered 8 things that don’t belong on a kitchen counter.
Who Answered, and What the Numbers Cannot Show
The survey was nationally representative, with 1,000 U.S. households surveyed in January 2026. Behavior questions went only to the 632 respondents who reported a change in grocery spending and tied it to food prices. Spending and waste were self-reported, ReFED said, and the survey did not include waste audits to verify the claims.
The waste measure was also a category, not a quantity. Respondents said whether they wasted much less, a little less, about the same, a little more or much more, so the findings show the direction of change and not how many pounds went uneaten. BioCycle’s coverage of the report framed it as evidence that affordability may be a strong motivator for cutting waste at home.
Price Pressure Changed How Kitchens Work
The report found that 58% of households said their grocery spending rose over the past year, and 93% of those households attributed the increase to food prices. The median household spent about $150 a week on groceries, and the median increase among those spending more was about $50 a week, or $2,600 a year, according to ReFED.
Overall, 56% of households self-reported wasting less food than a year earlier, with 31% saying they wasted much less. Just 3% reported wasting more. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates in its guidance on preventing wasted food at home that the average family of four spends almost $3,000 per year on food that does not get eaten.
For the households that answered ReFED’s questions, the lesson was simple. The habit most tied to throwing out less was the one that put yesterday’s dinner back on the table today.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Bretwa – CC0/Wikimedia Commons
