Household Food Waste Survey Template

Ask households about food disposal, planning habits, and practical barriers over the past seven days. This food waste survey helps community programs choose useful support without requiring weight estimates.

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Household Food Waste Survey: first question and response field, desktop preview — Household Food Waste Survey Preview

Household Food Waste Survey: first question and response field, tablet preview — Household Food Waste Survey Preview

A household may discard food because plans changed, portions were too large, or purchases went unused. Ask about the recent situation without blame. Keep the survey focused on food intended to be eaten, rather than mixing it with unavoidable scraps.

When to use this household food waste survey

Community waste-prevention teams can use this version with adults involved in household food shopping or preparation. It concerns household practices, not commercial kitchen audits.

7 questions for your household food waste survey

Use these 7 questions as a starting point. All fields are optional; choose one answer where choices are listed. Leave an irrelevant open field blank.

Respondent introduction:
Think about the past seven days. Here, discarded food means food intended to be eaten that was thrown away or otherwise not eaten, excluding inedible scraps. Answer without guessing quantities.

How to customize your household food waste survey

Define discarded edible food clearly and retain the seven-day period. Do not ask people to taste or use food to judge safety. Offer a not-sure option for respondents who share shopping and cooking responsibilities. Use a separate measurement method if you need quantities. Before sharing widely, try the questions with a few people from the intended audience and clarify anything they interpret differently.

Printable household food waste survey template

Use this printable household food waste survey template at a community food or waste-prevention event. It includes the same questions and space to write, giving people who prefer paper or are less comfortable online another way to take part. SurveyLegend helps you offer both formats. Tell respondents where to return the completed form and who will review it. Paper answers need a separate review or manual entry process; they are not automatically added to online responses.

AI prompt for a household food waste survey

Use these questions to choose practical household food-waste support to explore.

The full prompt below specifies your household food waste survey, including all 7 questions and response settings. Copy it, register for a free SurveyLegend account, and paste it into SurveyLegend’s AI survey creation tool. Review the result and add your organization’s details before sharing.

Create a household food waste survey in SurveyLegend using the exact questionnaire below.

Purpose: Use these questions to choose practical household food-waste support to explore.

Creator setup before sharing:
Household version; adults involved in food preparation; seven days; edible food discarded excludes inedible scraps. No food safety advice.

Requirements:
- Include exactly 7 fields in the order shown. Preserve wording, field types, choice order, and optional settings verbatim.
- Show every field. Single choice means one selection. Preserve instructions for irrelevant fields; do not invent branching.
- Do not add questions, answers, scores, outcome predictions, certifications, or promises of anonymity.
- Do not invent organization details, dates, offer prices, a concept card, a job criterion, or other required context. Ask the creator for missing setup information before the survey is shared.
- This prompt creates a draft questionnaire. It does not process transactions, change accounts, issue tickets, publish testimonials, or make employment decisions.
- If an exact field or setting is unavailable, explain the limitation separately rather than silently changing it.

Respondent introduction:
Think about the past seven days. Here, discarded food means food intended to be eaten that was thrown away or otherwise not eaten, excluding inedible scraps. Answer without guessing quantities.

Exact questionnaire:

1. How involved were you in household food shopping or preparation during the past seven days?
Field type: Single choice
Answer choices, in order:
- Not involved
- A little involved
- Shared responsibility
- Mainly responsible
- Prefer not to say
Required: No
Display rule: Always

2. On how many of those days was food intended to be eaten discarded?
Field type: Single choice
Answer choices, in order:
- None
- One or two
- Three or four
- Five to seven
- Not sure
Required: No
Display rule: Always

3. What was the main reason food was discarded?
Field type: Single choice
Answer choices, in order:
- Plans changed
- Too much prepared
- Too much purchased
- Food was no longer considered suitable to eat
- Another reason
- No food discarded
- Not sure
Required: No
Display rule: Always

4. How often did you check what food was available before shopping?
Field type: Single choice
Answer choices, in order:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Always
- Did not shop
Required: No
Display rule: Always

5. How often did you plan meals before buying food?
Field type: Single choice
Answer choices, in order:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Always
- Did not buy food
Required: No
Display rule: Always

6. What makes it difficult to avoid unused food in your household?
Field type: Long text
Answer choices: none; respondent enters their own text.
Required: No
Display rule: Always

7. What kind of practical support would be useful?
Field type: Long text
Answer choices: none; respondent enters their own text.
Required: No
Display rule: Always

Compare every field with this specification before finishing. Report differences separately. Ask the creator to review the draft and required context before sharing. Do not publish automatically.

Use prompt directly in SurveyLegend

Create a free account, then paste the copied prompt into SurveyLegend.

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How to use the answers

Review reported disposal frequency with the main reason given. Planning support may suit changed plans, while portion guidance addresses a different problem. Use requested support to design a small initiative, then collect later feedback. Responses do not establish kilograms saved or changes in emissions.

Does this measure the amount of food wasted?

No. It gathers reported frequency, reasons, and habits. Use a separate weighing or diary method if quantity is your research goal.

Why exclude inedible scraps?

This version focuses on food intended to be eaten so respondents are answering about a consistent subject.

Can restaurants use this version?

A commercial kitchen needs different questions about preparation, storage, service, and recorded waste. Do not combine household and business responses as if they describe the same process.

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