The last third of a loaf of bread, a clamshell of berries going soft and half a jar of pasta sauce tend to end up in the same place. A new national count says American households are throwing out less of that kind of food than they used to.
ReFED, a nonprofit that tracks U.S. food waste, reported that surplus food fell 2.2% in 2024 to about 70 million tons, and that households led the drop with nearly 950,000 fewer tons. The figures come from “Progress on the Plate: 2026 ReFED U.S. Food Waste Report,” released Tuesday, April 7, 2026, and they cover data for 2024.
A 2.2% Drop Takes the Total to 70 Million Tons
ReFED’s announcement of the findings puts total surplus food at about 70 million tons for 2024. That is a 2.2% reduction from 2023, and the group describes it as the first meaningful annual decline since a pandemic-era dip.
Surplus food, in ReFED’s usage, is food that goes unsold or uneaten. ReFED’s overview page says that was 29% of the 240 million tons of U.S. food supply in 2024, and that the surplus was worth $381 billion.
The 2.2% applies to the national total. Counted per person, the decrease was slightly larger, at more than 3.7%.
ReFED’s president, Dana Gunders, said in the release, “This is an opportune moment to focus on wasting less food.”
Households Cut Nearly 950,000 Tons
The biggest mover was the kitchen at home. ReFED credits households with nearly 950,000 fewer tons of surplus food, the main driver of the national decline.
Trade outlet The Packer, in an April 10, 2026, story by Jill Dutton, added detail from the report. Consumers account for 33.5% of surplus food, the largest share of any sector, and household waste fell by about 950,000 tons in 2024, the biggest improvement among the sectors. Farms made up 24.2% of surplus, and retail made up 5.7%, according to the same story.
The Packer reported that rising grocery prices pushed shoppers toward habits like meal planning, checking inventory before a store trip and eating leftovers. The average person still spends $762 a year on food that ends up wasted, ReFED says.
Freezing is one of the easiest of those habits. A walkthrough on freezing fresh green beans to enjoy all year shows how little work it takes to stretch a harvest or a sale-price haul past its fridge life.
What the Grocery Budget Has to Do With It
Wasted food is also wasted money. The EPA says the average family of four spends almost $3,000 a year on food that does not get eaten, and ReFED puts the value of all surplus food at $381 billion. Savings habits that read like frugality advice, such as clever frugal living tips, often start in the refrigerator.
Shoppers who work the clearance rack have a version of the same lesson. A mom who posts as “Victoria’s Meal Prep” says Kroger clearance can run deep, and her tips on Kroger clearance deals only pay off if the discounted food is used before it spoils.
The same math shows up in lessons parents pass down. A list of money lessons many people wish their parents had taught them tends to include the one about finishing what is already in the house.
For anyone trying to save money fast, using up the fridge before the next shop is a low-effort place to begin.
Fresh Produce Is Still the Hardest to Finish
Progress did not reach every aisle. According to The Packer’s account of the report, fresh produce is the most wasted category, at 45.4% of surplus, and households still struggle with it more than with prepared foods.
A bag of salad greens, a pint of berries and a bunch of herbs all have short windows. That is the category where a plan for the week matters most.
The EPA’s tips for households point the same direction. The agency suggests checking the refrigerator, freezer and pantry before shopping, writing quantities on the list, and freezing bread, sliced fruit, meat or leftovers that will not be eaten in time. It also says leftovers belong in clear, labeled, dated containers.
What the Report Says Is Left to Do
The 70-million-ton total is still large, and the coverage points to where the work remains. Retail’s unsold food rate was down 1.1% from 2023 to 2024, The Packer reported, and surplus food in retail was valued at $26.9 billion. The report also analyzes 47 solutions.
The Packer reported that ReFED says those 47 solutions could cut 20 million tons of waste a year if fully put in place, and that the broader goal is to halve food waste by 2030. The story also quotes Gunders: “With higher food prices, Americans are looking for ways to extend their grocery dollars.”
The EPA adds a few handling rules that matter for leftovers. Perishable food should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours, and the refrigerator should stay at 40 degrees F or below, according to the agency’s home food waste page.
Definitions vary by agency. According to Wikipedia’s entry on food loss and waste, the EPA counts food that is served but uneaten, spoiled, or inedible parts such as peels as food waste, while unharvested crops count as food loss.
One note on dates: the figures describe 2024, and ReFED released them in April 2026. The 2.2% drop is a measured decline in a single year, not a trend line, and the nonprofit’s own framing is that the moment is an opening to do more.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
