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Come on, America. We're better than this!

By this point, it’s pretty common knowledge that the United States has a food waste problem. But did you know that the issue is not just an ecological one, but an economic one too? And even if you did know, is that knowledge guilting you into changing your habits?

According to a recent survey of 2,000 people conducted by hloom, a staggeringly large amount of people actually believe that food contributes the most largely to their financial woes.

Check out this chart:

As you can see, people say they are totally willing to cut back on dining out expenses; however, they are not willing to compromise on throwing out expired foods or wasting money on groceries.

It turns out that Americans each throw out between about $240 and $280-worth of food per year, with some states being much more guilty of this habit than others. The survey also showed that states with a higher ratio of people who dine out also contribute more to food waste.

The takeaway, of course, is to start being accountable. We all need to begin self-educating, and learning what the dates on our food really mean. Unfortunately, sell-by, best-by, and other food labels are often confusing, and make the task of ascertaining whether or not food is good or spoiled more difficult, but some common sense and research goes a long way.

Additionally, hloom suggests making some small changes, like going out for one fewer restaurant meal a week (which saves over $600 a year), and kicking the habit of buying bottled water, which is bad for the environment and also much more costly than tap water.

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Come on, America. We're better than this!

By this point, it’s pretty common knowledge that the United States has a food waste problem. But did you know that the issue is not just an ecological one, but an economic one too? And even if you did know, is that knowledge guilting you into changing your habits?

According to a recent survey of 2,000 people conducted by hloom, a staggeringly large amount of people actually believe that food contributes the most largely to their financial woes.

Check out this chart:

As you can see, people say they are totally willing to cut back on dining out expenses; however, they are not willing to compromise on throwing out expired foods or wasting money on groceries.

It turns out that Americans each throw out between about $240 and $280-worth of food per year, with some states being much more guilty of this habit than others. The survey also showed that states with a higher ratio of people who dine out also contribute more to food waste.

The takeaway, of course, is to start being accountable. We all need to begin self-educating, and learning what the dates on our food really mean. Unfortunately, sell-by, best-by, and other food labels are often confusing, and make the task of ascertaining whether or not food is good or spoiled more difficult, but some common sense and research goes a long way.

Additionally, hloom suggests making some small changes, like going out for one fewer restaurant meal a week (which saves over $600 a year), and kicking the habit of buying bottled water, which is bad for the environment and also much more costly than tap water.

Can You Guess Which States Waste The Most Money On Food?

Come on, America. We're better than this!

By this point, it’s pretty common knowledge that the United States has a food waste problem. But did you know that the issue is not just an ecological one, but an economic one too? And even if you did know, is that knowledge guilting you into changing your habits?

According to a recent survey of 2,000 people conducted by hloom, a staggeringly large amount of people actually believe that food contributes the most largely to their financial woes.

Check out this chart:

As you can see, people say they are totally willing to cut back on dining out expenses; however, they are not willing to compromise on throwing out expired foods or wasting money on groceries.

It turns out that Americans each throw out between about $240 and $280-worth of food per year, with some states being much more guilty of this habit than others. The survey also showed that states with a higher ratio of people who dine out also contribute more to food waste.

The takeaway, of course, is to start being accountable. We all need to begin self-educating, and learning what the dates on our food really mean. Unfortunately, sell-by, best-by, and other food labels are often confusing, and make the task of ascertaining whether or not food is good or spoiled more difficult, but some common sense and research goes a long way.

Additionally, hloom suggests making some small changes, like going out for one fewer restaurant meal a week (which saves over $600 a year), and kicking the habit of buying bottled water, which is bad for the environment and also much more costly than tap water.