CARE researchers present insights on household freezer use at ESA conference

CARE researchers joined the 17th European Sociological Association Conference in Warsaw, Poland, from 25 to 28 August 2026. The conference brought together more than 3.000 participants and offered an inspiring setting for exchange across the social sciences.

As part of a session dedicated to food waste research, Jussi R. Ojala from Tampere University, one of our newest CARE team members, presented preliminary insights from CARE’s ethnographic research on household freezer use. The presentation, entitled “Exploring Household Freezer Use for Food Waste Reduction Strategies: Ethnographic Insights from Finland, Norway and Sweden”, is linked to an ongoing joint paper involving CARE researchers from Finland, Norway and Sweden.

The presentation explored how freezers are embedded in everyday household practices. demonstrated that, in addition to being mere storage technologies, freezers can play different roles in how food is saved, stored, forgotten, postponed or revalued. By identifying five distinct freezing modes, the research opens new perspectives on how freezing can be leveraged to support more sustainable food management in households.

The session sparked interesting questions and discussions on the modes of freezing, the socio-materiality of freezers, the cultural contexts of freezing practices and the many different ways in which food waste is negotiated in everyday life.

The CARE team will continue working on the paper throughout autumn and share further updates once the publication process progresses.

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The CARE project explores how households across Europe can reduce food waste and extend the lifetime of clothing through everyday practices, peer learning and community engagement. Insights from the CARE pilots help researchers, municipalities and civil society organizations better understand how circular living can be supported in practice.

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Header image: © Martta Vänskä