13.9% of the Italian population, about 8 million people, live in conditions of moderate or severe food insecurity, but each year 1.7 million tonnes of food are wasted, the equivalent of 3.4 billion meals of 500 grams that could feed more than 3 million people in poverty. These are the data of the Waste Watcher International Observatory, highlighted in view of World Food Day, the day that on 16 October celebrates the value of food on the planet and the 80th anniversary of the FAO.
“A day that invites profound reflection for a paradigm shift in food policies and behaviour, Italy is a country that wastes and goes hungry,” explains Waste Watcher scientific director, Andrea Segrè, recalling that 13.8% of Italians fear that they will experience food insecurity in the next twelve months.
“Behind the figures, there is the reality of families forced to reduce the quality or quantity of food purchased, skip meals or give up fresh produce because it is too expensive. A food poverty that is not only economic but also social and cultural, where the difficulty of access to healthy food is accompanied by the loss of its nutritional and relational value,” says Segré.
Every week, each Italian throws away an average of 555.8 grams of food (Waste Watcher, September 2025), a domestic waste that decreased by 18.7% from 2024 to 2025, but remains a structural phenomenon.
The paradox is obvious: those who have less tend to waste more in quantity and quality. According to Waste Watcher, finally 51% of Italians are in favour of including the Right to Food in the Constitution, even at the cost of a slight increase in taxation to finance nutritional welfare programmes, social canteens and short supply chains. The “ius cibi” is thus recognised as a fundamental and constitutional right, to guarantee every citizen stable, fair and sustainable access to adequate food.
Dining and Cooking