The Impact of Covid-19 Lockdown on Portuguese Households’ Food Waste Behaviors

Abstract

On March 19, 2020, a State of Emergency was declared in Portugal as a way to contain the spread of the COVID-19. Restriction measures were adopted, limiting the mobility of the population. This paper presents preliminary results of an online survey to Portuguese households on the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on food purchase, storage, management, and waste generation. A total of 841 questionnaires were collected. The main changes observed were in food purchasing behavior, as 77 percent stated that they had reduced the frequency of grocery shopping, and 68 percent had bought more in local shops than before. Regarding food waste generation, the majority (60 percent), stated that during lockdown they threw away the same amount of food as before. 36 percent answered less than before, reporting that they had adopted strategies to reduce food waste. Vegetables, milk, and fruit were the goods with the highest reduction of food waste.