Food Waste Is Costing You Thousands – Here’s How to Shop Smarter

You open the fridge and find a half-empty pack of sliced chicken. The date expired yesterday. You give it a cautious sniff, hesitate — and toss it in the trash. Sound familiar?

You’re not alone. According to a 2023 survey by NORSUS, Norwegian households throw away an average of 35 kilos of food per person every year [1]. Scale that up to the whole country, and we’re talking about food worth about 11 billion kroner — every single year [1]. That’s money straight down the drain, along with all the resources spent to produce, transport, and chill that food.

In this article, we look at what research says about why we waste food, how much it’s costing us, and — most importantly — what you can do to shop smarter and keep your grocery budget in check.

Food Waste in Norway: The Numbers

Food waste isn’t just an environmental issue. It’s an everyday money problem that hits your wallet directly.

A report for the Norwegian Environment Agency estimates that the average Norwegian throws away food worth around NOK 3,000 to 3,500 a year [2]. For a family of four, that could mean 12,000–14,000 kroner every year — money that could go to holidays, savings, or just better ingredients.

And the climate effect is significant: Household food waste in 2023 was responsible for an estimated 400,000 tons of CO₂-equivalents [1]. Every time you throw away a pack of cheese or a bag of salad, you’re not just tossing the food — you’re also wasting the energy, water, and emissions that went into making it.

The good news? Things are moving in the right direction. Food waste per person in Norway has dropped by roughly 24 percent since 2015 [3]. But households are still lagging behind other parts of the supply chain. There’s work to do at home.

What Are We Actually Throwing Away?

Breakdown analyses from NORSUS show three main categories [4]:

• Meal leftovers — about 37 percent. Food that was made, but not eaten.
• Fruit and veggies — about 26 percent. Bananas that go brown, wilted salad.
• Bread and baked goods — around 20 percent. Half-eaten bread bags that dry out.

Surveys also show that liquid dairy and beverages make up a large part of what we pour out, but these are rarely captured in waste analysis — since they literally go down the drain [4].

The pattern has stayed surprisingly stable over time. It’s mostly the same foods we throw out, year after year. So the solution isn’t about changing your entire diet — it’s more about getting better at a few key things.

The Three Most Common Pitfalls

Research points to three main reasons why food ends up in the trash at home [1] [5]:

1. We Forget What We Have

The hands-down biggest reason. Food gets shoved to the back of the fridge, behind plates and boxes, until it’s too old. NORSUS’s survey shows that “forgotten in fridge or elsewhere” is the most reported reason for food waste in Norwegian homes [1].

2. We Buy Too Much — Often for the Wrong Reason

Bulk discounts, 3-for-2 offers, and “I’ll buy a bit extra just in case” all mean we end up with more food than we can use. This is reinforced by the fact that over 40 percent of Norwegian households consist of just one person [6]. Packaging sizes are often made for families, not solo dwellers. The result? Half a loaf dries out and the rest of the milk spoils.

Nordic Council also notes that bulk discounts can lead us to bring home more food than we planned — directly undercutting the budget we’re trying to stick to [5].

3. We Misunderstand Expiry Dates

“Best before” doesn’t mean “dangerous after.” But a lot of people treat it that way. NORSUS found that a quarter of Norwegians are wary of using food past its date, for fear of getting sick [7]. At the same time, most say they use their senses — look, smell, taste — to judge if food is good. Contradictory? Absolutely. And it’s right in this gap that food waste happens.

A Nordic policy report stresses that many interpret “best before” as food not being edible after the printed date, and this belief is made even stronger when shops also refuse to sell products past their best before [5]. The report recommends clearer information distinguishing between quality and safety dates.

The difference is simple, but important:

• “Best before” means the producer guarantees optimal quality until that date. The food is usually completely safe days, weeks — sometimes months — after.
• “Use by” / “Last date” is about food safety. Here, you should be careful.

What Works — According to Research?

It’s easy to feel guilty. But the research shows you don’t need to overhaul your entire routine. Small, simple steps can have a surprisingly big impact.

Make It Visible in the Fridge

A European intervention study reported by the EU Joint Research Centre (JRC) found that households who kept the fridge tidy and put “priority food” — stuff that needs to be used first — right at the front, sometimes saw over a 50% reduction in unopened food being thrown away, and over a 30% drop in plate waste [8]. Surprisingly, most participants didn’t even change their shopping habits. Just seeing what they had was enough.

Plan Ahead — But Have a Leftovers Strategy

Meal planning and portioning helps. JRC found that meal boxes reduced dinner waste and “cooking waste” was 36 percent lower compared to traditional cooking [8]. But — and this is key — without a plan for leftovers, you can get a “rebound effect” where plate waste goes up. The point isn’t just making the right amount, but also knowing what to do with the leftovers.

Set Specific Goals

A Norwegian nudge study — the “Matvett Challenge,” developed with Nudgelab — showed simple steps work: Participants picked three specific food items they often threw away, set goals, and got follow-up for eight weeks. The result? Six out of ten managed not to throw away those foods, almost every day. 3 out of 4 also tossed less of other foods. And after six months, 9 out of 10 said they’d kept up the new habits [9].

Eight weeks. Three foods. Lasting change. That’s encouraging.

How to Shop Smarter — Seven Practical Tips

Research gives us the knowledge. Here’s how you put it into practice:

1. Check What You Have Before You Shop

It sounds basic, but it’s the single most effective thing you can do. Open your fridge, freezer, and cupboards. What’s there? What should be used up? Your grocery list should start with what you have, not what you think you need.

With Heima you can keep track of what’s in your fridge, freezer, and cupboards via inventory lists. Items are shared in real-time with everyone in your household, so you can check from your phone — whether you’re at home or already in the store.

2. Make a Shopping List — And Stick To It

There’s a reason every food waste expert repeats this advice: it works. A shopping list connects what you need to what you plan to cook. It’s your defense against impulse buys and “yeah, but it was on sale” traps.

Heima’s shared shopping lists update in real time. If someone in your household adds milk, everyone sees it immediately. The app also suggests items you usually buy, based on your shopping history — so you don’t forget what you actually need.

3. Think Weekly Menu — But Keep It Simple

You don’t need a professional meal plan. Just a rough idea for three or four dinners, where the ingredients connect. Having tacos Tuesday? The leftover veggies can turn into a stir fry on Thursday. Heima’s meal planner lets you drag recipes into your week’s plan and generate the shopping list straight from the ingredients — so you buy exactly what you need, and nothing extra.

4. Watch Your Portions

Over-cooking is a major driver of food waste. Meal leftovers make up the single biggest category of what we throw away [4]. You don’t need kitchen scales or spreadsheets. But being mindful of how much you make — especially pasta, rice, and potatoes — can make a big difference over time.

5. Learn the Date Labels

Print this rule and stick it on your fridge:

• “Best before”: Use your senses. Look, smell, taste. Food is usually good well after the date.
• “Use by”: Be careful. This date is about safety.

And remember: You can freeze most foods before their date to extend shelf life by weeks or even months.

6. Keep Track — Without Making It a Chore

Research on food waste apps shows tools work as long as they’re easy enough. A pilot study from JMIR found that apps raised awareness but too much manual work meant people stopped using them [10]. Participants wanted an “all-in-one” solution covering wastage, health, and budget.

That’s exactly what Heima is designed for. With barcode scanning you can add items fast, and when you’re done shopping, you can move purchased items straight to your inventory with suggested expiry dates — no endless typing.

7. Track What You Use — And What You Throw Away

What gets measured, gets improved. Heima’s insights features (premium) give you weekly consumption trends, your most bought products, and a breakdown of spending per shopping trip. Over time, this shows your patterns: Do you consistently buy too much of something? Shop more often than you need? Use more some weeks than others?

When you can see where the money goes, it’s easier to make smarter choices.

Single-Person Households: A Unique Challenge

Over 40 percent of Norwegian households are single-person [6]. NORSUS finds that food waste per person is significantly higher in single-person households than in ones with two or more people [1]. The reason is partly structural: Bread bags, milk cartons, and produce packs are made for families. When you live alone, “half too much” is an everyday problem.

For solo dwellers, three steps are extra important:

• Freeze bread in portions. Split a loaf in two or three, and freeze what you’re not using right away.
• Choose smaller packages — even if the price per kilo is higher. A cheap bulk buy isn’t cheap if you throw half of it away.
• Actively use your inventory list. When you live alone, no one else notices that the yogurt’s about to expire. Heima’s expiry alerts do the job for you.

The Big Picture: Budget and Sustainability in One Go

The beauty of reducing food waste is it pays off twice over. You save money and cut your climate footprint. The NOK 3,000 to 3,500 you throw out in food each year [2], also equals about 118 kg CO₂-equivalents per person [2]. That’s like driving a petrol car 500–600 kilometers — every year, for no good reason.

The Norwegian food waste agreement aims to halve food waste by 2030, compared to 2015 [3]. We’re on the way, but households are lagging. That means most of the potential still sits with us — at home, in the fridge, in the kitchen.

Start With One Week

You don’t need to do everything at once. Start here:

1. Pick three foods you often throw away. Bread? Salad? Dinner leftovers?
2. Set one goal for the week: “This week, I won’t toss any of these three.”
3. Check the fridge before you shop. Make your list based on what you have and what you plan to cook.

The “Matvett Challenge” showed exactly this approach works — and the habits stick [9]. After eight weeks, you’ll likely have saved a few hundred kroner and wasted way less.

If you want help staying organized, Heima makes it easier. The app brings together shopping lists, pantry inventory, meal planning, and consumption insights — shared in real-time with everyone you live with. And it’s free to download.

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Sources

1. NORSUS (2024). Mapping report on food waste in Norwegian households 2023 — levels, causes, product categories, attitudes and demographics. norsus.no
2. Norwegian Environment Agency (2018). Climate and cost calculations for consumer food waste. Prepared for the Environment Agency. miljodirektoratet.no
3. Matvett/NORSUS (2025). Fact sheet on food waste in Norway: Total level, trend, and sector split. Estimated 407,100 tons in 2024, 73.4 kg per inhabitant, 24% reduction since 2015. matvett.no
4. NORSUS (2024). Summary of breakdown analyses (2023) and survey (2025): Product categories in household food waste. norsus.no
5. Nordic Council of Ministers. Breaking Barriers — Nordic policy tools for food waste: campaigns, date labeling, packaging, and price reduction. norden.org
6. SSB (2024). Household size in Norway 2024: 40.8% single-person households. ssb.no
7. NORSUS (2025). Survey on attitudes to date labeling and food safety in Norwegian households. norsus.no
8. Joint Research Centre, European Commission. Evaluation of Consumer Food Waste Prevention Interventions — effects of tools, portioning and date marking campaigns. publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu
9. Matvett/Nudgelab. Results from the Matvett Challenge — nudge intervention with six-month follow-up. matvett.no
10. Wharton, C. M. et al. (JMIR). Food waste app pilot study: Awareness vs. behavior change, and the need for integrated solutions. jmir.org