BMPS FOR COMMERCIAL & INSTITUTIONAL

WASTED FOOD REDUCTION/RECOVERY

Athena Lee BradleyNortheast Recycling Councilwww.NERC.org

Percent Wasted

Restaurants•Percent of total purchased food• 11.3% Full Service / 9.55% Fast-Food•Percent of trash• 66% Full Service / 52% Fast-food

Retailers - Percent of wasted food• Fresh fruit - 1.4%, fresh vegetables - 9.7%, fresh meat, poultry, & seafood - 4.5%

Percent Donated or Recycled

Restaurants•Donated, 1.4% (surveys vary 20-70%)•Recycled, 14.3%• Of this, more than 70% is cooking oil recycling

Manufacturing•Donated or recycled 94.9%• More than 85 percent is repurposed for animal feed

Retail/wholesale •Donated or recycled 42.4%• Composting & donation

Benefits

•Save $ - reduced commodities, labor, energy, disposal costs• Improved worksite sanitation•Recognition•Access to tax credits•Community engagement/social benefits•Environmental

Wasted Food—Restaurants, Cafeterias

Back of the house/pre-consumer • Expiration/spoilage, trim waste, incorrectly

prepared food/overcooked, dropped, overproduction• Service stations – salad bars, self-serve, deli

stations, misordered product, expired grab & go• Leftover catering

Front of house/customer/post-consumer• Plate waste

Wasted Food—Retailers

•From transport - bruising, spoiling, drying•On shelf - piling, touching, dropping •No longer fresh “looking”/ “ugly”•Customers shop based on food appearance•Sell-by & best-by dates confuse retailers & shoppers

Getting Generators on Board

•Assist with waste audits/assessments•Provide training & resources•Promote the organics hierarchy•How to “right size” trash collection

•Know donation & composting options•Grant money•Recognition

Waste Audit/Assessment

•Understand food service practices & how they generate inefficiency/waste •Determine baseline• Look at each point of generation

•Pre-Consumer•Receiving, prep, production• Service: hot line, deli, salad bar

•Post-Consumer

Key Steps

• Engage key stakeholders – “SWAT”•Review data, set waste minimization goals•Revise procedures, policies, menus•Daily overview/discussion; weekly meetings•Track/control systems •Ongoing measure of pre-consumer waste•Periodic review of plate waste – portion sizes

Staff Training

•Employee orientation•Ongoing• Staff meetings – solve issues as a team• Monitor staff compliance• Friendly competitions• Recognition/rewards

•Consistent messaging, signage•Seek Feedback/Provide Feedback• Give periodic updates-$saved, food scraps diverted

Wasted Food Reduction BMPs

•Make wise purchasing decisions•Reduce inventory size, order more frequently

•Practice proper storage/rotation•Invest in high-quality preparation & processing equipment• Specialized knives

•Bulk food purchasing & dispensers

BMPs, cont.

•Batch Cooking•Consider secondary uses for excess food• Soups, salads, daily specials

•Change the dishware • Smaller plates & glasses will reduce portions• Set smaller plates with food on larger plates to make portions look bigger

BMPs, cont.

•Monitor plate waste - adjust menu & portions •Allow employees to take home leftovers•Go trayless - students waste 25-30% less food without tray option•“Waste Awareness Drives”

Retail Specific BMPs

•Properly maintain perishable foods & groceries displays•Rotate older products in front of newer ones

•Discount food that isn’t at peak freshness or “ugly” produce•Use in prepared deli foods, soups, etc.

Food Recovery

•Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act•Richard Russell National School Lunch Act •Amended to clarify that schools who donated food to charity are protected by Good Samaritan Laws •USDA & EPA recognize schools•K12FoodRescue.com - "Getting Started"

Barriers to Donating Food

•Transportation constraints • Insufficient storage/refrigeration on site •Liability concerns •Regulatory constraints• Insufficient storage/refrigeration at food banks •Confusion over use by/sell by dates

Food Recovery BMPs

•Know characteristics of suitable food – • Types of acceptable food• Food safety is key - trained staff, temperature

control, timing, sanitation

•Develop directory of food recovery organizations•Promote benefits—tax credits, liability protection, community benefits

Food Recovery BMPs, cont.

•Partnership building • Effective communication & relationships

•Assist food recovery organizations in setting up route densities•Or, alternative means of transportation

•Recordkeeping•Promote/Recognize participants

Food Recovery in Action

Farm Gleaning

Food for Animals

Grow Compost Vermont

Grow Compost Vermont, cont.

Recognition

Universal Signs & Symbols

Consistent Images

Consistent Colors

NERC Can HelpWe’re experts in Waste reduction & recycling Recycling program design &

implementation Organics management Green procurement C&D reuse & recycling Electronics recycling School reuse, recycling & composting Textile recycling programs Multi-stakeholder dialogues &

negotiations & More!

Fee for service makes NERC’s expertise available

at a reasonable price with

outstanding results

Athena Lee Bradleyathena@nerc.org

802.254.3636www.nerc.org