Household time activities, food waste, and diet quality: the impact of non-marginal changes due to COVID-19

Abstract

In early 2020, a novel coronavirus quickly spread across the globe. In response to the rapidly increasing number of confirmed U.S. cases, state and local governments suggested social distancing, issued stay-at-home orders, and restricted travel, fundamentally changing how individuals allocate time. Directly impacted time activities, such as work, eating food away from home, grocery shopping, and childcare significantly impact two food-related topics: household food waste and diet quality. In order to investigate these non-marginal time changes, we predict weekly time allocated to seven activities for households in the National Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey using information from the American Time Use Survey. Jointly estimating household production functions for food waste and diet quality, we find that time events that are related to fresh produce consumption, such as increased grocery store trips and time spent in FAH activities, are related to higher diet quality, but lower food waste. While time events that are associated with quick convenient meals, such as time spent in secondary childcare and work time, are also associated with lower food waste, these events decrease household diet quality. We then predict the level of household food waste and diet quality for three COVID-19 scenarios: one where the household head is likely able to work remotely, another where the household head is likely to lose their job, and a third, where the household head is likely to be considered an essential worker. Households without children that are likely able to work remotely are predicted to have lower levels of food waste and higher diet quality, while households without children in the other two COVID-19 scenarios are predicted to have only minor differences.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on household food waste behaviour: A systematic review

“… Babbitt et al (2021) ; Bender et al (2021) ; Jribi et al (2020) ; Kubíčková et al (2021) ; Laila et al (2021) ; Pires et al (2021) ; Qian et al (2020) ; Rodgers et al (2021) ; Scacchi et al (2021) ; Scharadin et al (2021) ; Vidal-Mones et al (2021) ; Vittuari et al (2021) Cooking Skills Development More time to develop cooking skills Better cooking skill Confidence in cooking Cooking more efficiently Amicarelli et al (2021) ; Hassen et al (2020), Hassen et al (2021b) ; Bender et al (2021) ; Berjan et al (2021) ; Pires et al (2021) ; Roe et al (2021) Using leftovers Higher usage of leftovers Cooking new recipes with leftovers Serving leftovers at the family meal Feeding dogs with leftovers in cities Feeding chickens in the countryside Amicarelli and Bux (2021) ; Babbitt et al (2021) ; Hassen et al (2021a) ; Bender et al (2021) ; Filimonau et al (2021) ; Hassen et al (2021b) ; Jribi et al (2020) ; Pappalardo et al (2020) ; Pires et al (2021) ; Principato et al (2020) ; Scacchi et al (2021) Online Shopping Reduce bulk shopping Limiting panic shopping Less stockpiling Amicarelli et al (2021) ; Babbitt et al (2021) ; Ben Hassen ...…”

“… More responsible purchasing by checking the refrigerator Writing shopping lists Eating whatever is available More online shopping and food delivery services. Bender et al (2021) ; Berjan et al (2021) ; Kubíčková et al (2021) ; Laila et al (2021) ; Liu et al (2021) ; Scacchi et al (2021) ; Scharadin et al (2021) ; Vidal-Mones et al (2021) ; Vittuari et al (2021) Meal Planning Meal planning reduces food waste Babbitt et al (2021) ; Laila et al (2021) ; Principato et al (2020) Food Shopping Planning Less shipping frequency triggers shopping planning Better food shopping plan Preparing shopping list Amicarelli and Bux (2021) ; Hassen et al (2021b) ; Jribi et al (2020) ; Laila et al (2021) ; Liu et al (2021) ; Pires et al (2021) ; Principato et al (2020) ; Vittuari et al (2021) Stockpiling Better in house food storage Storing more food may lead to higher waste Buying not-intended food can increase food waste. More stockpiling gives a sense of stability and predictability during uncertain times Purchasing more non-perishable food Babbitt et al (2021) ; Hassen, El Bilali, Allahyari, and Charbel (2021) ; Bender et al (2021) ; Berjan et al (2021) ; Cosgrove et al (2021) ; Hassen, El Bilali, Allahyari, and Charbel (2021) ; Laila et al (2021) ; Liu et al (2021b) ; Pappalardo et al (2020) …”

“… Consuming more fruit and vegetables during a diet can increase food waste. Scacchi et al (2021) , Scharadin et al (2021) Awareness of Children's Favourites Better awareness of favourite food of children Fewer leftovers Laila et al (2021) …”

“…Dieting reduces unplanned food shopping, as people follow a planned meal routine, which may lead to less food waste ( Scacchi et al, 2021 ). However, Scharadin et al (2021) argued that consuming more fruit and vegetables during a diet may lead to higher food waste.…”

“… More children can lead to higher food waste as spending more time on childcare leads to less time for meal planning and cooking. Berjan et al (2021) ; Everitt et al (2021) ; Li et al (2022) ; Özbük et al (2021) ; Pappalardo et al (2020) ; Qian et al (2020) ; Scharadin et al (2021) ; Vidal-Mones et al (2021) ; Vittuari et al (2021) Gender Women reduced food waste more than men during the pandemic Women have more concerns about the adverse effects of food waste on the environment Women have a better understanding of food waste In most cultures, women are in charge of cooking and inventory management Cosgrove et al (2021) ; Hassen et al (2021a) ; Qian et al (2020) ; Scacchi et al (2021) ; Vidal-Mones et al (2021) ; Vittuari et al (2021) Age Older people reduce food waste more than young ones during the pandemic Young people have less experience in food management, which causes higher wastage. Older people may see food as more valuable if they have gone through economically challenging periods.…”