Survey reveals one-third of Canadians who cook have thrown away food because they couldn’t see it in the fridge or forgot they bought it, wasting food and money
Ahead of National Clean Out Your Fridge Day on Nov. 15, a new Harris Poll survey commissioned by The Campbell Company of Canada found that 60% of Canadians who cook open their fridges at least once per month and feel they have nothing to make despite having food available.
The findings point to a common household challenge: while Canadians often have the ingredients for a meal, they struggle to see the possibilities hiding in their fridges. As a result, one-third of Canadians who cook admit they have thrown away food because they couldn’t see it in their fridges or forgot they bought it.
This disconnect comes at a cost: nearly eight in 10 (79%) Canadians cooks say they lost money through food waste or duplicate purchases in the past month, highlighting how fridge organization and food visibility can affect household budgets.
“This lack of visibility is hitting home. The food is there, but many Canadians are losing track of what they already have and lacking inspiration for how to use it,” said Kristen Knox, Director of Marketing, Meals and Beverages, Campbell Company of Canada. “Sometimes the ingredients for a great meal are already sitting in the fridge, waiting to be rediscovered.”
With National Clean Out Your Fridge Day on Nov. 15, Campbell’s aims to help Canadians unlock the meal potential hiding in their fridges. With the survey showing that 64% of Canadian cooks believe a fridge organization system would help them make better use of food, Campbell’s has partnered with organizational expert Allison Weigensberg to develop a simple fridge organization system designed to bring forgotten ingredients back into view, spark meal inspiration and help Canadians save food and money.
Weigensberg’s process involves three easy steps:
- Adding a Turntable means that instead of digging around, you can just give it a spin and access hard to reach ingredients that are often lost at the back of the fridge.
- Inserting clear bins that act like drawers. Look for low-profile, open bins, so it’s easy to reach in and grab what you need. They’re especially helpful for smaller items that tend to get lost.
- Organizing in Zones based on how you actually use your fridge. Grouping similar things together means you know where to look for something and, just as importantly, where to put it back. For example: an “eat me first” area for leftovers, opened ingredients and foods you want to use soon.
“With this system, Campbell’s is encouraging Canadians to see their fridge differently: not as a collection of forgotten ingredients, but as their next meal waiting to happen,” said Knox. “This survey has shown us that Canadian cooks are actively looking for practical ways to make better use of the food they already have.”
Additional survey findings:
- 86% say simple ideas for using unexpected ingredients would be helpful.
- 70% of Canadians who order in food say they may be able to do so less often if they made better use of forgotten ingredients already at home.
- 88% say they would consider recipes that combine leftover ingredients with soup, broth or stock.
Look for inspiration and easy recipes using soup and broth on CookWithCampbells.ca.
