Restaurant Food Waste Statistics (2026): Foodservice Surplus Data

The US generated about 70 million tons of surplus food in 2024, roughly 29% of the food supply, worth about $380 billion (ReFED, 2024 data, published 2026). Restaurants and other foodservice businesses produced about 12.5 million tons of that. Around 78% of foodservice waste went to landfill and less than 1% was donated.

This page collects the most useful restaurant and foodservice food waste statistics in one place. Every figure links to its primary source and shows its data year. Different studies measure different things, so read the notes before comparing numbers. We keep the page updated as new reports come out.

Citing this page: you're welcome to quote any figure. Please cite the original source listed in the table, and link back here if the roundup helped you.

How much food does the US waste?

Statistic	Source (data year)
70 million tons of surplus food, about 29% of the US food supply	ReFED 2026 U.S. Food Waste Report (2024)
Surplus food fell to 412 lb per person, down 3.7% from 442 lb in 2023	ReFED 2026 report (2024)
Surplus food was worth about $380 billion, about 1.3% of GDP	ReFED 2026 report (2024)
About 85% of surplus (~60 million tons, $325 billion of value) ended up as waste. The rest was donated or used as animal feed	ReFED (2024)
Food businesses lost about $122 billion in surplus food value, not counting plate waste	ReFED 2026 report (2024)
30–40% of the US food supply is never eaten (EPA's official range)	EPA 2030 goal page
Retail, foodservice and households wasted 66.2 million tons of food, plus 40.1 million tons from manufacturing and processing	EPA 2019 Wasted Food Report (2019)
Food is about 24% of the municipal solid waste sent to US landfills, more than any other material	EPA

ReFED and EPA use different scopes and methods, so their totals aren't directly comparable. ReFED's latest figures cover 2024. EPA's latest wasted-food estimates cover 2019.

How much food do restaurants and foodservice waste?

Statistic	Source (data year)
Foodservice generated about 12.5 million tons of surplus food, about 18% of the US total	ReFED foodservice fact sheet (2024)
That surplus was worth about $157 billion, equal to 14% of foodservice sales	ReFED foodservice fact sheet (2024)
The foodservice surplus equals about 20.7 billion meals	ReFED foodservice fact sheet (2024)
Full-service restaurants produce more than 43% of foodservice surplus	ReFED: Restaurants and Foodservice (2024)
Plate waste (food served but not eaten) is about 70% of foodservice surplus (8.72M tons). Kitchen overproduction is 11.9% and catering overproduction 9%	ReFED: Restaurants and Foodservice (2024)
ReFED models about 4.2% of food purchases as unused pre-consumer surplus, and about 11% of food served as left on the plate (modeled estimates)	ReFED foodservice methodology
Restaurants alone generated 18.3 million tons of wasted food (27.7% of the total). The wider food service sector, including hospitals, schools and hotels, generated 26.7 million tons (40.4%)	EPA 2019 Wasted Food Report (2019)
In NYC, Nashville and Denver, restaurants and caterers were the largest business generators of food waste	NRDC city-level study (2017)

ReFED's "foodservice" category includes cafeterias, catering and hospitality as well as restaurants. The 12.5 million tons is not a restaurant-only figure.

Where does restaurant food waste go?

Statistic	Source (data year)
Foodservice surplus destinations: landfill ~78% (9.73M tons), composting 10.3%, incineration 8.3%	ReFED: Restaurants and Foodservice (2024)
More than 85% of foodservice surplus is landfilled or incinerated. Less than 1% is donated	ReFED: Restaurants and Foodservice (2024)
Food service sector (EPA scope): 72% landfilled, 17% combusted, 8% composted	EPA 2019 Wasted Food Report (2019)
About 1.7 million tons of food went through the charitable food system. That's just under 13% of the surplus that could have been donated	ReFED 2026 report (2024)

Prepared food is hard to store and move safely, which is why so little restaurant surplus is rescued. Unopened inventory is different: short-dated cases, overstock and discontinued items can often be sold or donated before they expire. Our guide on how to sell surplus food inventory covers that side.

What does food waste cost restaurants?

Statistic	Source (data year)
Restaurants saved an average of $7 for every $1 invested in cutting kitchen food waste (114 restaurants, 12 countries)	Champions 12.3: Business Case for Restaurants (2019)
Those restaurants cut kitchen food waste 26% in year one. 75% recouped their investment within a year and 89% within two. Each site invested under $20,000	Champions 12.3 (2019)
Across all sectors (700 companies), the average return was $14 per $1 invested	WRI / Champions 12.3 (2017)
Median food and non-alcoholic beverage cost was 32.0% of sales at full-service and 32.4% at limited-service restaurants	National Restaurant Association (2024)
42% of operators said their restaurant was not profitable in 2025	National Restaurant Association (2025)
Business and Industry foodservice operators in the US Food Waste Pact improved food efficiency 5.7% in one year, saving an estimated $15.9 million	ReFED 2026 report (2023–2024)

With food at roughly a third of sales and margins thin, every case that expires on a shelf comes straight off the bottom line. Our food cost calculator and inventory carrying cost calculator help put a number on it.

What are the rules for donating surplus food?

Rule	Source
The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects good-faith food donors from civil and criminal liability, except for gross negligence or intentional misconduct	42 U.S.C. 1791
The Food Donation Improvement Act (Jan 2023) extends protection to restaurants, caterers, grocers and others that donate directly to people in need at no cost, and to sales to nonprofits at a "good Samaritan reduced price"	Public Law 117-362
The enhanced tax deduction for donated food inventory is the lesser of twice the basis or basis plus half the expected profit. It is capped at 15% of net income (taxable income for C corporations), with a 5-year carryforward	26 U.S.C. 170(e)(3); IRS Publication 526
Businesses that don't account for inventory can elect to treat basis as 25% of fair market value	IRS Publication 526

Which laws require businesses to divert food waste?

Law	Details	Source
US 2030 goal	Cut food loss and waste 50% by 2030 (328 → 164 lb per person). The 2019 level was 349 lb, up 6% from the baseline	EPA
State policies	ReFED counts 12 states with food waste diversion policies in effect. 24 bills passed and 110 were introduced in 2025	ReFED 2026 report
California SB 1383	Statewide target to recover 20% of edible food by 2025. Since Jan 1, 2024, restaurants of 5,000+ sq ft or 250+ seats must arrange edible food recovery (Tier Two)	CalRecycle
Massachusetts	Commercial organics disposal ban. The threshold was lowered from 1 ton to ½ ton per week on Nov 1, 2022	RecyclingWorks MA
New York	Generators of 2+ tons of food scraps per week must donate edible food and recycle the rest, if within 25 miles of a recycler (since 2022)	NY DEC
New Jersey	Generators of 52+ tons of food waste per year must separate and recycle it if a facility is within 25 road miles	NJDEP
Vermont	Food scraps banned from trash for everyone, including businesses, since July 1, 2020	Vermont DEC

How often do restaurants close?

Statistic	Source
26% of independent restaurants in one Ohio market changed ownership or closed in year one, and 60% within three years. The authors found no data supporting the "90% fail in year one" claim	Parsa et al., Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly (2005)
Using 20 years of BLS data on 81,000 restaurants, 17% of independent full-service start-ups failed in year one, versus 19% for other service businesses. Median lifespan was about 4.5 years	Luo & Stark (2014)
The industry has more than 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets. 7 in 10 are single-unit operations	National Restaurant Association
Restaurant and foodservice sales are projected at $1.55 trillion in 2026	National Restaurant Association

Every closure leaves inventory and equipment to deal with. Our restaurant closing checklist and where to sell used restaurant equipment guide walk through the options.

What is food waste's climate impact?

Statistic	Source (data year)
Surplus food accounts for about 3.5% of US greenhouse gas emissions (219 million metric tons CO2e) and about 9% of US methane	ReFED 2026 report (2024)
Foodservice surplus alone produces 63.6 million metric tons CO2e a year	ReFED foodservice fact sheet (2024)
An estimated 58% of methane released from municipal landfills comes from food waste	EPA
Landfills were the third-largest source of US human-caused methane in 2023, at 17.4% of the total	EPA GHG Inventory (2023)
More than 85% of landfilled food waste's emissions come from production, transport and processing, before the food is thrown away	EPA

Which food waste numbers should you avoid?

These figures circulate widely but don't hold up:

• "90% of restaurants fail in the first year." No data supports it. See Parsa (26% turnover) and Luo & Stark (17%) above.
• "40% of US food is wasted." This is NRDC's older "up to 40%" upper bound. ReFED's current figure is 29% (2024), and EPA gives a 30–40% range.
• "Restaurants waste 4–10% of the food they buy." We couldn't trace this to a primary source. ReFED's modeled pre-consumer rate is about 4.2%.
• "72,000 restaurants closed in 2024." Often attributed to the National Restaurant Association, but we found no NRA source.
• Mixing up the ROI figures. $7 per $1 is restaurants (2019). $14 per $1 is all sectors (2017).
• "The donation deduction is capped at 25%." That cap applied only in 2020–2021. It is 15% now.
• Comparing ReFED and EPA totals as if they were a trend. They use different years, scopes and methods.

How can restaurants reduce surplus waste?

The research points to the same few levers:

• Measure it. Tracking waste is one of ReFED's highest-return solutions.
• Right-size portions, since plate waste is most of foodservice surplus.
• Order to demand.
• Move surplus before it expires. Sealed, in-date inventory has value to another business.

On Food Service Surplus, restaurants, distributors and manufacturers can list surplus food for free with no commission, and business buyers contact them directly. If you're clearing out a closed or remodeled kitchen, you can create a listing for equipment and supplies too.

Figures last checked September 29, 2026. Spotted an outdated number? Let us know.