Summary
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is a new collection for identifying and describing the sources of food waste; identifying and describing how much food waste can be attributed to these different sources in U.S. households overall and by food category; identifying and describing how estimates of food waste attributable to each source, overall and by food category, are associated with household characteristics including household income and per capita food-at-home expenditure; identifying and describing how estimates of food waste attributable to each source, overall and by food category, are associated with adherence to best practices in minimizing household food waste; identifying and describing the minimum level of food waste by source, overall, and by food category, observable in a nationally representative sample of U.S. households; and using information collected from objectives 1-5 to develop updated food waste estimates and a predictive model that estimates the proportion of food waste at the household level for varied household types.
Request for Comments
Written comments must be received on or before March 24, 2026.
- Comments may be sent to: Michael Schwarz, Economist, Nutrition and Economic Analysis Branch, Nutrition Guidance and Analysis Division, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314.
- Comments may also be submitted via email to michael.schwarz@usda.gov.
- Comments will also be accepted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to Regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for submitting comments electronically.
All written comments will be open for public inspection at the office of the Food and Nutrition Service during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), Monday through Friday at Braddock Metro Center II, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval. All comments will be a matter of public record.
Abstract
This is a new information collection request. The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) outlines costs associated with foods and beverages that can be purchased on a limited budget to support a healthy diet at home; the TFP is the least costly of four nutritionally balanced food plans developed by the USDA. The average monthly TFP food cost estimates for a standard four-person household1 are used to set maximum monthly benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Understanding the amount of food wasted at the household level is an integral part of the TFP because even the thriftiest households generate some food loss or waste.2 This study aims to provide data-driven estimates of the amount of food waste households create and the minimum level of food waste generated by U.S. households (with a focus on four-person households). This study will use household surveys, digital food waste diaries, wastebin audits, and in-depth interviews to update estimates of household food waste and develop a new predictive model to estimate household food waste for the foreseeable future. FNS has identified six objectives for this study: (1) Identify and describe the sources of food waste, (2) identify and describe how much food waste can be attributed to these different sources in the U.S. households overall and by food category, (3) identify and describe how estimates of food waste attributable to each source, overall and by food category, are associated with household characteristics including household income and per capita food-at-home expenditure, (4) identify and describe how estimates of food waste attributable to each source, overall and by food category, are associated with adherence to best practices in minimizing household food waste, (5) identify and describe the minimum level of food waste by source, overall, and by foot category, observable in a nationally representative sample of U.S. households, and (6) using information collected from Objectives 1-5, develop food waste estimates and a predictive model to estimate the proportion of food waste at the household level for varied household types.
1 One adult man aged 20-50, one adult woman aged 20-50, one child aged 9-11 and one child aged 6-8.
2 Unavoidable food waste occurs at the household level (though not at the fault of the household) because of supply chain inefficiencies, such as dairy spoiling prematurely because it was not handled properly by retailers (Mercier, et al., 2017).