New data from the nonprofit ReFED estimates that the U.S. generated in 2021 91 million tons of “surplus food,” defined as all food that goes unsold or uneaten. This represents 38% of U.S. food supply. Close to 50% of this surplus was generated by households, with another 20% generated by consumer-facing businesses. And while 80% of total surplus food was edible parts, less than 2% was donated.

According to ReFED, the waste contributes nearly 6% of the country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions emissions, uses 22% of U.S. freshwater and 16% of cropland. Wasted food is also a drain on the economy, the group said, as food that goes uneaten still costs money to grow, harvest, transport, cool, prepare, and then ultimately dispose of. ReFED’s analysis placed the value of food that went unsold or uneaten at $444 billion in 2021, approximately 2% of U.S. GDP.

"Although we had hoped that our analysis would show more progress in reducing food waste, we’re unfortunately at about the same levels as we were in 2019, making it even more imperative that food system stakeholders really dig in now and make the changes that are necessary to achieve a significant impact,” said Dana Gunders, ReFED’s executive director. “What’s heartening is that the amount of wasted food did level off, and actually appears to be declining slightly on a per capita basis. So perhaps we have moved past the point of ‘peak waste.’ But it will take everyone working together to keep the momentum going.” 

As part of its efforts to reduce food waste, ReFED modeled 42 food waste solutions to determine which were the most effective at reducing loss and waste for each sector of the supply chain and based on key impacts.

“Implementing these solutions across the food system would cost approximately $18 billion per year. However, this would deliver an annual net economic benefit of $74 billion – a four-to-one return,” the organization noted. “In addition, each year, it would result in GHG emissions reductions of 109 million metric tons of CO2e and water savings of 6 ton gallons, and it would save the equivalent of 4.3 billion meals for people in need.”

ReFED has a goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030 but said the analysis indicates “significant increases in investment and implementation will be required” to meet that goal.