Minimizing Food Wastage: Sustainable Practices for Restaurants

According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurants generate an estimated 22 to 33 billion pounds of food waste every year in the United States. Food waste isn’t just bad for the environment; it’s also a waste of money. The good news is that there are a few ways you can reduce food wastage in your restaurant that customers won’t even notice. This article aims to highlight practical strategies and insights that can help you cut down on food waste while maintaining the quality and consistency your customers love.

How Do Restaurants Contribute to Food Waste?

Over-portioning and excess inventory are two major ways restaurants contribute to food waste. Many establishments serve larger portions to meet customer expectations or as a way to justify menu prices, but this often results in food left uneaten on the plate. Additionally, ordering excessive inventory or improperly storing ingredients can lead to spoilage. With a few adjustments to portion sizes and inventory practices, restaurants can significantly reduce the amount of food that ends up in the trash.

Menu variety and seasonal offerings can also increase food waste in restaurants. Establishments with large, varied menus may need to keep a wide range of ingredients on hand, but this can lead to unused perishables when certain items don’t sell as expected. Similarly, seasonal items or limited-time offerings often require specialty ingredients that may not be repurposed for other dishes. This approach can be appealing for customers but often results in significant food waste if demand falls short.

Environmental and Economical Impact of Food Waste

Food waste has a profound impact on the environment, from wasted resources to increased greenhouse gas emissions. When food is discarded, it’s not just the food itself that’s wasted but also the resources that went into producing, transporting, and storing it—like water, fuel, and labor. Furthermore, when food waste ends up in landfills, it decomposes and releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. By reducing food waste, restaurants can help cut down on resource depletion and lower greenhouse gas emissions, positively impacting the planet.

Legislation To Reduce Food Waste

Several key pieces of legislation are addressing food waste reduction across the United States. The Agriculture Resilience Act is one example, aiming to reduce food waste by 75% by 2030 through comprehensive waste prevention and composting strategies. This act also promotes sustainable farming practices to minimize food loss from farm to table. By implementing and supporting such legislation, restaurants and foodservice businesses can help contribute to national food waste reduction goals and move toward a more sustainable food system.

The Zero Food Waste Act seeks to cut down on food waste through investments in food recovery infrastructure, such as distribution to food banks and local nonprofits, rather than disposal. This act enables food providers, including restaurants, to play an active role in feeding communities and reducing the environmental impacts of waste. Through such legislation, the restaurant industry can make a positive impact while also gaining access to resources that make food recovery easier.

Finally, the COMPOST Act supports large-scale composting infrastructure, diverting food waste from landfills and reducing methane emissions. This legislation encourages restaurants and other food businesses to participate in composting programs, which ultimately turns food waste into valuable soil additives for agriculture. Acts like COMPOST help to transform the way food waste is handled, providing a sustainable alternative that benefits both the environment and local economies.

How Can Restaurants Cut Down on Food Waste?

It’s important for restaurants to do their part in cutting down on food waste. Some ways they can contribute to food waste prevention are:

Serving Smaller Portions

Portion control isn’t just a tactic for people on diets. It can also help restaurants reduce food wastage.

Oversized portions are one of the biggest drivers of wasted food in the restaurant industry. According to Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab, diners leave 17% of their restaurant meal uneaten, on average. If you’re telling yourself that goes into doggy bags, stop. Cornell also found that more than half of edible leftovers don’t get taken home.

That means step one is probably reducing the size of your portions. Take a few weeks to audit the plate waste data, broken down by dish. This will help you determine what the ideal portion size would actually be.

You should also consider different portions of the same dish for lunch versus dinner. People tend to eat less at a mid-day meal, and it’s more complicated to take home leftovers from their lunch break.

Portion control is a good first step because it’s low-hanging fruit. It’s easy to implement without making deeper changes, as is often required with menu planning.

Making Changes To Your Menu

Between 4 and 10% of the food you purchase is wasted before it even reaches the consumer, often through food spoilage.

One way that restaurants accidentally waste food is by planning their menu around dishes but not ingredients. When most food items get put into multiple dishes, you’ve hedged your bets against spoilage. You can get the benefits of ordering in bulk while minimizing food wastage.

Another way to adjust your menu for reduced waste is to give customers more choices, especially when it comes to sides. This ensures they only end up with food that they’re more likely to eat rather than something that just came with their meal.

Giving to Those in Need

Food rescue operations that cater to restaurants and retail operations are increasingly common across the country. Some offer regular pickup for your convenience. Look for options near you.

Even if you don’t have any specialized organizations in your local area, non-profits like shelters or food kitchens may be able to take ingredients or completed dishes off your hands. It’s a better end than the dumpster.

Don’t Lose Sight of Food Safety

As a restaurant manager, you have a lot of competing concerns to worry about at once, and you have to juggle them all. For example? You can allow your sustainability efforts to compromise the safety and health of your guests.

That’s why it’s a good idea to earn your Food Safety Manager Certification and renew your training every few years. You’ll reinforce your understanding of food safety issues, regulations, and techniques, learn how to keep your customers safe and happy, and still reduce food waste!

Our ANAB-accredited Food Safety Manager Certification course includes online proctoring for your national certification exam. That means you can complete the entire process from the comfort of your own home. Enroll today!