FOOD WASTE SOLUTIONS FOR HOSPITALITY

person-throws-kitchen-food-waste-into-compost-heap-ACJU8YE.jpg

Is there anything more disheartening than seeing food that you’ve worked so hard to source, create and cook going in the bin for landfill? But did you know reducing food waste from customers’ plates is one way we can do our bit to address climate change?

Beef + Lamb New Zealand have jumped on board to champion food waste reduction and support the Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 - to halve global food waste by 2030. If you’re not already on the food waste bandwagon, we hope to inspire you to jump onboard.

During March, the inaugural New Zealand Food Waste Summit - Te Hui Taumata Moumou Kai o Aotearoa - was held. The summit built on the work of WasteMINZ - Love Food Hate Waste campaign and NZ Food Waste Champions 12.3. The summit covered food waste at all stages of the food chain – paddock, packhouse, presentation (retail and hospitality), and plate (consumer). It provided a holistic view, showcasing the amazing work and innovation already being done in the food waste space, as well as highlighting the gaps to be filled.

So, what do we already know about our hospitality sector food waste? Back in 2017/2018 the University of Otago and WasteMINZ undertook research looking into the food waste generated by 20 restaurant and cafes, from six locations across Aotearoa. They did this through bin audits and an online survey. The following results provide an estimate of food waste in the New Zealand café and restaurant sector which include:

24,375 tonnes of food waste is generated per annum from the restaurant and café sector
Of this food waste, 61% is avoidable and 39% is unavoidable e.g. eggshells, banana skins
The average café and restaurant generate approximately 2.8 tonnes of food waste per annum
Spoilage was found to be 7% of all food waste, preparation waste was 60% and plate waste was 33%

This research goes on to suggest actions we can take as an industry to reduce food waste, which was echoed in the NZ Food Waste Champions 12.3 recently launched ‘Food Waste Reduction Roadmap’ . This roadmap provides solutions for food waste reduction across the food supply chain including hospitality.

The key hospitality recommendations were: staff education and training; more waste friendly models; embracing food redistribution; composting; portion and plate sizes; offer doggy bag services; and celebrate seasonal and local ingredients.

At the Food Waste Summit, the hospitality sector was represented by Hannah Miller, the Lady Butcher from Churly’s restaurant in Auckland and Nick Loosely from Everybody Eats. Hannah shared a few of the roadmap key recommendations on education and training.

“In our restaurant nothing actually ever goes in the bin. Once the bones have been used, they go in the compost.”

To achieve zero food waste at their restaurant, Hannah and her head chef constantly check the bins and have a strong focus on staff education.

Nick Loosley and Hannah Miller speaking on the panel at the inaugural New Zealand Food Waste Summit.

Over at Everybody Eats, they embrace food redistribution with much of the food produced in the restaurant, being diverted from landfill and put to good use to create delicious meals.

Another of the recommendations, bringing back the doggy bag, has been taken to the next level by Nick with the new ‘Goodie Bags’. This encourages customers to take home any leftovers and provides an option for them to also donate to Everybody Eats.

Along with doing our bit to address climate change by reducing business food waste, another reason to embrace some of these recommendations is the financial benefit. A report produced by the Champions 12.3, found for every $1 a business invests in reducing food waste, they receive a $14 financial return, with restaurants being identified as receiving the highest financial returns.