Key to cutting food waste is in our daily routines

Every day, huge amounts of food go straight into the trash. Governments try new policies, supermarkets run campaigns, and restaurants push subtle nudges. Yet, waste piles up. Families still throw away edible meals while millions go hungry.

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth decided to ask a simple question: Do quick reminders like “save” or “reuse” actually change anything? Their answer points in a very different direction. Instead of being swayed by short messages, people’s long-term habits mattered most.

Those who already valued frugality wasted less food, while others hardly changed. The study shows lasting behavior change needs deeper roots.

Frugal cues shaped food choices

Priming works by slipping subtle hints into people’s surroundings, shaping their decisions without much thought. A word like “reuse” on a menu or an image of a savings box can act as a signal. To test this, researchers worked with 95 participants.

Some received frugal prompts, while others saw materialistic ones. Then came the task: deciding whether to keep or discard food items at different stages of freshness.

The aim was to see if quick cues could change behavior in the moment. Would frugal prompts encourage saving food, or would deeper, long-term habits prove more influential in avoiding waste?

The results leaned heavily toward habits. People who already had a frugal outlook tended to waste less, regardless of the cues. In contrast, those with weaker frugal tendencies were more easily swayed, especially by materialistic signals that emphasized abundance and consumption.

This suggested that prompts alone were not enough. Without strong values in place, cues could even push some people toward more waste. For real impact, the study showed, consistent habits and ingrained mindsets mattered far more than momentary signals.

The psychology of prompts

The results were striking. People with strong frugal habits wasted less food, no matter the prompts. Those habits had more influence than any word or image.

Materialistic cues did push less frugal people to waste more. But participants who already lived frugally resisted the pull. Their everyday mindset acted like a shield.

This shows that strong values can override outside influences. When frugality becomes second nature, people stay consistent even when surrounded by messages promoting excess and consumption.

“Our findings suggest that quick nudges and priming cues are not enough to shift food waste behavior,” said Steven Iorfa, lead author and Ph.D. student at the University of Portsmouth. “It’s people’s ingrained, everyday frugal habits that make the real difference.”

Food waste fuels global crisis

Food waste is more than an inconvenience, it’s a crisis. One-third of all food produced never gets eaten, even while billions of people struggle with hunger. In 2023, more than 2.3 billion people faced food insecurity, and that number could rise as the population grows.

By 2050, nearly 10 billion people will need food, yet our current system already wastes too much. Reducing waste is not just about saving money or cleaning plates, it’s about survival.

Every meal saved means fewer resources wasted, less pressure on the environment, and more food reaching those who truly need it.

Smart shopping reduces waste

The findings suggest that posters, slogans, or quick nudges are not enough. What works is building frugality into daily life. People who plan meals, reuse ingredients, and avoid unnecessary purchases already save more food without thinking about it.

Researchers point to education and community programs as better paths. Teaching young people to cook with leftovers, showing families how to budget, and framing frugal shopping as “smart shopping” could help.

Schools could include lessons on food planning, while local initiatives might run workshops that connect frugality with sustainability and community well-being.

“Frugality is more than a budgeting tactic,” said Iorfa. “It’s a mindset that encourages people to see waste as inconsistent with their values. If we want lasting change, we need to promote frugality as a social norm, not just rely on one-off prompts.”

Frugality ensures future food

Cutting food waste requires more than quick reminders or catchy slogans. Lasting change depends on habits that shape daily choices.

When people build routines like meal planning, reusing leftovers, and shopping mindfully, waste naturally decreases. Societies that value resourcefulness over abundance create environments where these habits thrive.

By shifting focus from one-time campaigns to long-term cultural norms, communities can resist wasteful influences and encourage mindful consumption.

This shift is not only about saving money but also about protecting resources and ensuring food security for billions. True progress comes from making frugality a shared, everyday practice across generations.

The study is published in the journal Food Quality and Preference.

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