Food waste is a problem all over the world. While all individuals, businesses, and industries can produce food waste, restaurants are one of the biggest food waste producers. Don’t wait for industry changes to help you put an end to food waste in your restaurant. Take the initiative and keep reading to learn three tips for ending food waste so your restaurant can do better and waste less this year.
Donate Unused Food
Many restaurants think they don’t have lots of options when it comes to handling unused food, so they just throw it away. Luckily, there are new laws starting all over the world that can protect your restaurant and allow you to safely donate unused food.
Various charities, especially those helping people who are homeless or disabled, accept food donations to redistribute to those in need. Research charities in your area and contact them to set up regular donations, so you waste less food and help your community.
Track Food Waste
Even if you start donating unused food, you can still accidentally waste more food than you realize. Tracking food waste every shift, day, or week can help you better understand waste habits in your restaurant.
You can invest in software that helps keep track of food waste or create a simple spreadsheet that allows you and your employees to track waste events. Track food waste for at least a month, so you can understand your waste trends. Once you learn how and why you’re wasting food, you can work on solving those problems and reducing waste at the source.
Compost Organic Waste
After you donate what you can and track your food waste, you need to decide how you’re going to handle waste that you normally throw away. Some food waste items that aren’t organic and biodegradable have to go to landfills or similar areas for disposal.
However, you can give organic and biodegradable waste a chance to resurrect through compost. If you have a garden at your restaurant, start composting your organic waste so it can help fertilize your garden. If you don’t have a garden, research community gardens in your area that may take compost donations. This prevents waste from building up in landfills and improves your community.
Food waste is common in the restaurant industry, but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow these tips to help put an end to it. Donating, tracking, and composting your food waste can change the restaurant industry for the better and improve your community. If you need food service equipment for your restaurant as you work toward these improvements, DSL can help. Our equipment and services are designed to serve you and help your restaurant thrive.