Food waste on 'staggering' scale
“[T]he average UK household needlessly throws away 18% of all food purchased. Families with children throw away 27% … “What shocked me the most was the cost of our food waste at a time of rising food bills, and generally a tighter pull on our purse strings,” Ms Goodwin said. “It highlights that this is an economic and social issue, as well as about how much we understand the value of our food.”
The Garbage Project found that people consistently waste more food during periods of shortage than during other times - primarily due to people buying items they do not usually buy, and then lacking knowledge of how to properly store or prepare it. Also, food shortages are exacerbated by hoarding.