In Week 3, we shift specifically to customer service and process improvement. Since my background in in the food service industry, I thought this was a great article to share. My affiliation with a state Restaurant Association I was involved with the city water and waste program, specifically eradication of waste, so this topic is not new to me. The estimated economic cost of energy, fuel, water scarcity, labor, commodities, and miscellaneous for food waste is estimated as $2.6 trillion per year . Approximately 133 billion pounds of food is attributed to the food chain supply, one-third of that waste from restaurants.
Granted there are some restaurant concepts that produce more waste than others and what is also important to note here is the type of waste. Grease is the worst! In the study by Blum , the first step is to develop standardize protocols as a way to quantification measures. Specifically, restaurant leaders are encouraged to track and monitor food waste to identify where loss and waste is occurring.
Strategies to reduce food waste and costs associated with waste include, but are not limited to, a system of regularly rotating food, using software inventory management, and waste recycling. Strategies to achieve waste reduction include setting measures, monitoring, staff engagement, and reduce overproduction . Restaurants are not the only operation that should be conscientious of food waste. What are some of the things that you do in your home to help with the reduction of food waste? Do you have any systems to share?
