Reducing Food Waste at Restaurants
The unpredictable nature of the restaurant industry results in a lot of unfortunate waste. All this means though, is that there is a lot of room to improve! Although it might be difficult at first to evaluate methods, and put changes into practice, it will ultimately end up saving businesses money in the long run. Here are some tips and tricks for reducing restaurant food waste.
Conduct a waste audit: Getting down and dirty with trash produced is essential for this. Although methods can be personalized for whatever business is completing the audit, the general idea is that trash should be sorted into categories and weighed. The data can be entered into a spreadsheet, and multiplied by the days in a year that the restaurant operates. These estimated categories will give an idea of what categories are the biggest contributors, and therefore need to be focused on. This audit can be completed regularly to track progress.
Stop over-prepping: If the waste audit depicts an item getting regularly wasted, it is important to immediately correct the preparation amounts to lessen the losses.
Have staff trainings on food waste: Implementing measures such as cutting produce in a way that helps keep it fresh longer is just one of the steps that can be taken in the kitchen.
Utilize the first-in-first-out (FIFO) method: The FIFO method is an inventory method that tracks and organizes inventory according to date. This ensures that food that is closer to perishing will be used first.
Store food properly: Pay attention to proper containers and temperatures needed for certain food groups. Taking extra steps such as labeling containers with best by dates and servings within can also be beneficial in the fight against waste.
Track inventory days oh hand (DOH): Days on hand is the average number of days inventory is on hand before it sells. Calculating DOH for different items and then decreasing inventory that has longer DOHs will help eliminate waste.
Create multi-use menu items: Getting creative and making dishes that can get the most of each food item is important. If there is a dish that only uses a small amount of an item, and the rest gets thrown out, it’s time to either take that selection off the menu or find out alternate ways to use the byproduct!
Pay attention to food seasonality: Although fruits and vegetables are technically available year round, paying attention to seasonality will result in better kept produce. When fruits and vegetables are in season, not only do they typically last longer, but they are more affordable as well!
Donate food before it goes to waste: Sometimes preventative measures are still not enough, and if that is the case that is okay. The next best thing can be done with unused food, is putting it into the hands of those in need. Whether it be sending employees home with food, or partnering with local food bank Food For People to see if there are any opportunities to organize donations.
Contact Local Food Resources Coordinator Allison Kenney at (707)445-3166 ext. 312 or akenney@foodforpeople.org for more information.