IFSI Needs Your Input

IFSI needs your help to evaluate the state of food waste in Indiana! If you are a manager or employee of a food service establishment in Indiana, please TAKE THIS 7 QUESTION SURVEY! The information gathered will help IFSI better understand current food waste reduction practices utilized by restaurants, caterers, and other food service establishments in Indiana.

What Does Source Reduction Mean?

Food waste reduction is the modification of back of house practices or processes within the supply chain to reduce food waste prior to consumption, such as waste audits, ordering habits, prep practices, proper storage techniques, etc. Unlike food rescue or food waste composting - source reduction prevents food waste and loss from ever occurring.

“When we opened Triton Brewing Company and Bistro, we decided that tracking food waste was important to us from a bookkeeping standpoint. Having a small carbon footprint is also very important in the brewing industry, so that was another motivator to prevent waste. We track our food waste mostly on an Excel spreadsheet, and as inventory in QuickBooks. Doing this has helped us to manage our costs and inventory more effectively. We have reduced our food orders and improved our profit margins by watching our waste.”– David Waldman, Co-Founder, Triton Brewing Company

Step 1: Engage with IFSI’s Source Reduction Strategy Group

IFSI’s Source Reduction Strategy Group is exclusively focused on food waste reduction. This group is focused on collecting data to determine the current state of food waste reduction efforts in Indiana and distributing resources to help commercial food establishments improve their food waste reduction practices. Please review the following source reduction resources IFSI has compiled for food service establishments.

Step 2. Start a Conversation at your Food Service Establishment

Selecting a new or negotiating with an existing food service provider to work within your organization’s sustainability goals can be a tricky process. The road map below delineates IFSI’s waste reduction recommendations and requirements to consider including in contracts with food service providers. Additionally, IFSI’s cost savings tip sheet can be helpful to organizations who would like to implement food waste reduction but need a financial argument for doing so.

FOOD SERVICE CONTRACT ROAD MAP (IFSI. 2019)

COST SAVING TIPS FOR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS (IFSI, 2019)

Cost Savings Case Studies

According to a study by Champions 12.3, restaurants earn an average return of $7 for every $1 invested in reducing food waste.

Intel Corporation Cafes - Hillsboro, Oregon

Two Intel business dining facilities, serving approximately 12,000 meals per week, tracked all pre-consumer wasted food on a daily basis for one year using computerized food waste tracking systems and software from LeanPath. Weighing time took less than four minutes per employee per week. With the data, the chefs looked for reuse opportunities such as using vegetable scraps for soup stock and sauce base, pureeing certain starches for thickeners in other entrees, using dairy items prepped for the coffee station to make chowder, and turning leftover fruit into chutney. Over the course of the year, wasted food in the kitchen was reduced by 47% and food costs per meal decreased by 13.2%.

Source: EPA – Reducing Wasted Food & Packaging: A Guide for Food Services and Restaurants

Iowa Health Systems

Beginning in 2008, Iowa Health Systems (now known as UnityPoint Health) spent a year tracking kitchen food waste at three hospitals in an effort to reduce the amount going to landfills. This information was utilized to change purchasing habits and reduce food waste in hospital kitchens through careful monitoring. In 2008, Iowa Health Systems reduced food waste by 70,273 pounds which equated to a savings of $2,785.47. By 2011 with the addition of two more hospitals and one medical center to the program, this number had grown to 347,514 pounds of reduced food waste and a savings of $13,196.16.

Source: Iowa Waste Reduction Center

Step 3. Implement a Food Waste Tracking System

Food service establishments can reduce more food waste and realize a greater return on investment by simply utilizing a food waste tracking system. Check out these options for taking your food waste reduction efforts to the next level:

EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge

EPA’s free program provides access to a year-over-year tracking system so you can see your improvements in food waste reduction over time. Participants are recognized on the EPA website and are eligible for national and regional awards. Establishments that use other food waste tracking systems can also participate in the Food Recovery Challenge.

LeanPath

Leanpath offers a system of scales, touch screens, and analytics software to closely monitor food waste. They offer different systems for different types of kitchens and budgets. For pricing, use the “Calculate My Savings” tool on the website to start a quote. Members of the National Restaurant Association receive a 10% discount.

Winnow

Winnow offers a system of scales, touch screens, and analytics software to closely monitor food waste. For pricing, use the “Calculate Savings” tool on the website to start a quote.

Step 4. Conduct a Food Waste Audit

Waste audits are a proven way to determine what waste streams are problematic for your institution. They are an effective and tangible way to show missed diversion opportunities.

EPA Resources for Assessing Wasted Food

Retail, food service, and other food management establishments can use A Guide to Conducting and Analyzing a Food Waste Assessment to learn how to take a “snapshot in time” of their wasted food by either manually sorting through materials in a garbage sample or by visually observing and estimating waste.

Restaurants and other food service establishments can use the Reducing Wasted Food & Packaging guide to learn how to save money by reducing wasted food and packaging with suggested strategies, templates and case studies.

The Paper Tracking Waste Log can be printed and used to track the quantity and reason for food waste.

Guide to Conducting School Food Waste Audits

The U.S. EPA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the University of Arkansas collaborated to create a guide for students and school personnel about the amount of food wasted in their cafeterias. The guide provides information on why and how to do a food waste audit, what to do with the data collected, and also offers food waste prevention ideas.

EPA Excess Food Opportunities Map

The interactive Excess Food Opportunities Map supports nationwide diversion of excess food from landfills. The map displays the locations of more than 500,000 potential industrial, commercial and institutional excess food generators and more than 4,000 potential recipients. The map also provides establishment-level information including estimates of excess food generation. Watch a video demonstration about how to use the map here.

Step 5. Implement Food Waste Reduction Programs and Practices

Once your organization or institution commits reduce food waste, and has a understanding of your unique challenges and opportunities via a food waste tracking system and food waste audits - you can start adopting further food waste reduction practices and programs. The EPA has published a variety of resources to help food service operators reduce waste. For additional assistance or information about EPA resources, contact your region’s EPA representative. Indiana is in Region 5.

US EPA’s Food Loss Prevention Guides:

Restaurants

Universities

Grade Schools

Grocery Stores

Manufacturers

EPA Webinars

Preventing Food Waste Upstream - a Source Reduction Approach

Preventing wasted food provides the greatest potential for cost savings and resource conservation. Businesses and organizations can learn to effectively prevent wasted food by taking source reduction steps such as inventorying supplies, changing processes and buying less. This webinar series introduces progressive examples from state agencies, businesses, and schools that prevent wasted food at the source.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Peer to Peer Exchange Webinars

The purpose of the Peer to Peer Exchange Webinars is for current and potential Food Recovery Challenge participants to learn from the speakers and from each other about how to successfully achieve wasted food reductions, as well as identifying obstacles, and learning useful strategies on how to overcome obstacles. This specific webinar is a peer to peer exchange on reducing wasted food in educational institutions.

Step 6. Consider Green Certifications

Take your food waste reduction efforts further by pursuing one of these green restaurant certifications:

TRUE Zero Waste

Contact: Marla Cherney, [email protected]

Cost: Determined by square footage. Minimum certification fee of $4,375.

A combination of a self-reported review and an on-site assessment by a TRUE Zero Waste consultant are used to determine certification compliance. Businesses must submit data annually to retain certification. Certified businesses receive a recognition plaque.

Green Restaurant Association Certification

Contact: Ben Prentice, [email protected] or [email protected]

Cost: Cost estimates are based on annual restaurant gross income. Contact GRA for fee information specific to your restaurant.

The Green Restaurant Association evaluates businesses and makes recommendations as needed for solutions to improve sustainability, using local vendors. Once certified, the GRA promotes certified green businesses on their website, social media, and the press. The GRA also educates business staff and customers about the sustainable steps the business is taking. Re-evaluation every three years is required, with added points being awarded for each improvement. Consultants are based in Boston and communicate virtually with interested business owners.

Green Seal

Contact: [email protected]

Cost: Fees apply. Contact Green Seal for fee information.

To achieve Green Seal certification, a consultant works with a business to submit pre-audit data and prep for on-site audit. A second consultant conducts an on-site audit. A project manager reviews the audit and issues a certification. A consultant also helps businesses market their certification. Periodic monitoring occurs post-certification. Bars, vending machines, and grocery stores are not eligible.

 

Step 7: Have Further Questions? Utilize these Local Food Waste Experts

These Indiana-based consultants are experts in food waste reduction and can help identify the best solutions for your organization as you navigate the exciting process of reducing your food waste!

Julia Spangler

Private consultant | [email protected]

Julia specializes in consulting with event venues, caterers, event planners, DMCs, and other professional members of the meetings & events industry. Julia can assist with auditing food waste issues at your facility, identifying and implementing solutions, and measuring waste reduction over time. More at juliaspangler.com.

Jodi Leamon

Allen County Department of Environmental Management - Sustainability Coordinator | [email protected]

Jodi is a source reduction group member and longtime IFSI stakeholder. Jodi is food waste reduction at the local government level. She has helped Allen County and Ft. Wayne, Indiana move the need on food waste through food forums, food rescue initiatives, composting awareness events, and more.