The app that pays for itself in a week.
The average U.S. family throws away $2,913 of food per year (USDA ERS). Not because anyone's careless — because nobody can remember what's in the fridge, when it expires, or what to cook with it. Shelfie tracks all three. Expiry alerts, rescue recipes, and availability-first suggestions add up. Standard plan is $7.99/month.
What your family throws out
Wasted in food per year, average U.S. family.
USDA ERS · Most of it is preventable.
That's 4 months of groceries
Bought, then forgotten, then tossed
Food waste = 8-10% of global emissions
Every item cooked is food not landfilled · UNEP
Common questions
How much food does the average American waste per year?
The average individual wastes $728/year on food. A family of four wastes approximately $2,913/year. That's 32% of all purchased food going in the trash — mostly because people forget what they have or don't use it before it expires (USDA data, 2024).
How does Shelfie actually reduce food waste?
Three mechanisms: expiry tracking (reminders before food goes bad), recipe suggestions (cook what you have instead of ordering takeout), and smart grocery lists (buy less because you know what's already in the kitchen). Together, these prevent the three main causes of household waste: forgetting, overbuying, and not knowing what to cook.
What's the environmental impact of reducing food waste?
Food waste generates 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP). Every item you cook before it expires is food that didn't rot in a landfill. Landfill decomposition of organic waste is a significant source of methane — a greenhouse gas far more potent than CO2 over the short term.
How long does it take to see savings?
Most users notice within the first week — that's usually when the first expiry alert prevents a $5-10 item from going to waste. By month two, the pattern is clear in your waste dashboard: fewer expired items, more meals cooked from the pantry, lower grocery bills.
How much can Shelfie realistically help reduce food waste?
It depends on your household. The more consistently you follow expiry alerts and cook from what you have, the more you reduce. The $2,913 figure is what the average U.S. family wastes per year (USDA ERS) — Shelfie is designed to help bring that number down by making expiry visible and cooking from existing pantry inventory the easier choice.