An estimated $1 billion in food goes to waste in Hennepin County households annually – that's 97 meals per person. Research showed that a key motivator for residents to change their behavior was ​the economic impact of all that wasted food – up to $2,800 each year ​or more for a four-person household.

That key insight became the cornerstone for ​our “Trash or Cash” campaign, reframing this surprisingly solvable problem with a very simple premise: wasted food is wasted money. ​With a clever game-show theme, the campaign used a humorous approach to capture consumers’ attention during Food Waste Prevention Week and educate residents on how they can keep more food out of the trash and keep more cash in their pockets.  

We drove residents to the trashorcash.org microsite where they could watch, learn and act. The site provided resources to help them dispose of less food, including signing up for Fridge Check Friday emails to encourage them to sustain new behaviors around how to plan, store and cook food.

Our integrated Trash or Cash campaign exceeded our goals by focusing on the economic impact of food waste and asking Hennepin County residents a “no-brainer” type question: “Would you prefer trash or cash?”

Almost 80% of Fridge Check Friday subscribers, who responded to our survey, said they have prevented food waste at home.