Revisiting Additional Outcomes in Food Waste Studies: Evidence from Low-Income Households in Chile

Abstract

Background/Objective: Previous research has measured the impact of interventions on food purchases and food waste separately. Moreover, food waste studies have rarely included food insecurity measurements, which could help develop more comprehensive interventions. The aim of this article is to evaluate the effect of educational videos on food and fruit and vegetable purchases, waste and food insecurity in low-income households. Methods: This study uses an experimental design involving low-income households in Chile to evaluate the effects of three educational videos: videos of (T0) recipes using regular fruits, (T1) refrigerator cleaning instructions, and (T2) recipes using overripe fruits. Results: The videos featuring fruit-based recipes (T0 and T2) increased fruit purchases and reduced fruit waste. In contrast, vegetable purchases and waste increased, especially under the recipe-based interventions. All interventions led to a decrease in food insecurity. Conclusions: An intervention that leads to a reduction in fruit waste can also hide an increase on vegetable waste, as well as changes on purchases and a decrease of prevalence of food insecurity. These findings highlight the importance of measuring fruit and vegetable purchases and food insecurity as complementary outcomes in food waste studies.