Table 5.

The impacts of demographic and situational factors on the association between COVID-19 and food waste.

Factors	Causes and Effects	Sources
Household Size	•On average, the food wastage of large households is higher than small households. •During the COVID-19 lockdowns, the food wastage of large households was reduced drastically. •More members lead to less food waste due to higher consumption during the lockdown. •More children can lead to higher food waste as spending more time on childcare leads to less time for meal planning and cooking.	Berjan et al. (2021); Everitt et al. (2021); Li et al. (2022); Özbük et al. (2021); Pappalardo et al. (2020); Qian et al. (2020); Scharadin et al. (2021); Vidal-Mones et al. (2021); Vittuari et al. (2021)
Gender	•Women reduced food waste more than men during the pandemic •Women have more concerns about the adverse effects of food waste on the environment •Women have a better understanding of food waste •In most cultures, women are in charge of cooking and inventory management	Cosgrove et al. (2021); Hassen et al. (2021a); Qian et al. (2020); Scacchi et al. (2021); Vidal-Mones et al. (2021); Vittuari et al. (2021)
Age	•Older people reduce food waste more than young ones during the pandemic •Young people have less experience in food management, which causes higher wastage. •Older people may see food as more valuable if they have gone through economically challenging periods. •Older people spend more time at home and have more time to manage food. •Young people started food management practices during the pandemic	Cosgrove et al. (2021); Everitt et al. (2021); Hassen et al. (2021a); Liu et al. (2021); Muresan et al. (2021); Principato et al. (2020); Qian et al. (2020); Scacchi et al. (2021); Vittuari et al. (2021)
Education	•Higher academic levels lead to less food waste usually.	Hassen et al. (2020); Hassen et al. (2021a); Muresan et al. (2021)
Employment Status	•Employment status influences lifestyle (e.g., dietary habits and daily schedules) •Unemployment leads to food waste reduction	Amicarelli et al. (2021); Berjan et al. (2021); Qian et al. (2020); Scacchi et al. (2021); Scharadin et al. (2021); Vidal-Mones et al. (2021)
Income	•Loss of income leads to food waste reduction •Higher incomes lead to higher food waste.	Bender et al. (2021); Hassen et al. (2021a); Hassen et al. (2021b); Jribi et al. (2020); Özbük et al. (2021); Qian et al. (2020); Scharadin et al. (2021); Vittuari et al. (2021)
Time Availability	•Working from home •More time to develop cooking skills. •More time for cooking and food preparation. •More time for food planning. •Work-life balance •More time to invest in knowledge	Amicarelli et al. (2021); Amicarelli and Bux (2021); Babbitt et al. (2021); Bender et al. (2021); Laila et al. (2021); Pappalardo et al. (2020); Pires et al. (2021); Roe et al. (2021); Scacchi et al. (2021); Scharadin et al. (2021); Vittuari et al. (2021)
Residency Location	•Size of city •Rural against urban	Principato et al. (2020)