Buying small is sometimes a better option
While there may be some benefits to buying big, there are also some potential economic, environmental and health drawbacks.
The Toronto Food Policy Council suggests about 40 per cent of food produced in Canada annually is wasted and close to half of this occurs in homes. On average Canadian households waste a surprising $28 of food each week.
Food waste is a significant underemphasized food budget concern. It is also often overlooked as a key personal way to boost environmental sustainability, given food waste contributes to higher carbon and methane production.
Also note food psychology research shows we are often subject to sensory specific satiety, which states that our senses (taste, smell and sight) get overwhelmed and numbed when they experience the same repetitive stimulus. This means that despite it being more cost effective to buy a ten-pound bag of oranges on sale, you may find your family eats less fruit in a week compared to when you buy ten pounds of six different types of fruit. The more variety, the more we eat.
Researchers have also learned that the more we have stockpiled, the more we potentially will also eat. This is good news if you are falling short in eating enough veggies and decide to buy veggies in bulk and place a large vegetable tray on the counter to snack on after work each day. This is bad news if your spouse purchased colossal family sized packages of your favourite potato chips in the cupboard and you are trying to cut back.