Food Waste Focus

Portland, OR – May 15, 2013. LeanPath Inc., creators of the patented LeanPath Food Waste Prevention System, is excited to announce the worldwide preview of its next-generation, cloud-based solution at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show, taking place May 18 to 21 in Chicago, IL.

LeanPath will be showcasing its new system in booth #5672 in the Technology Pavilion at the NRA Show. LeanPath Online is a complete system to measure food waste, analyze data and make changes to prevent recurring waste in the future. LeanPath focuses on pre-consumer food waste prevention, understanding that food service operations throw away four to ten percent of food purchases prior to serving them to consumers. The system also includes features to track and minimize post-consumer food waste.

The next generation of the LeanPath Tracker, an automated food waste collection terminal, functions as the foundation for the new system. The new LeanPath Tracker offers a large 10” touch screen, the ability to capture photos of each wasted item, an optimized user interface, and a signage mode which displays waste generation and reduction results to staff instantly. Many of the design changes have been informed by social science findings about human engagement and behavior change, as well as gamification.

“The world has awoken to the immense and fixable challenge of food waste, with source reduction clearly emerging as the optimal strategy,” explains Andrew Shakman, LeanPath co-founder and president. “LeanPath has been at this work for nearly a decade, never wavering from our focus on food waste prevention and minimization, and we’re excited to take things to the next level. This game-changing technology will set a new standard for food waste automation and analytics.”

The data captured at the tracking station is transmitted wirelessly to LeanPath Online, a cloud-based data warehouse where managers and culinary leaders can instantly view comprehensive waste data and insights. The online analytics are organized to make it easy to spot waste reduction opportunities and drill-down to understand specific waste entries. Managers can set up rule-based alerts via text message or e-mail to be notified when, for example, waste levels exceed a certain value. This enables an operator to proactively manage and control food waste in a way that has never been available before.

LeanPath will be previewing the new LeanPath Tracker and LeanPath Online at booth #5672 at the NRA Show. The product will be released in Q4 of 2013.

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About LeanPath
LeanPath, Inc. provides food waste tracking systems which enable foodservice professionals to dramatically reduce food waste, lower food costs, and operate more sustainable facilities. We partner with customers in 48 states and numerous foodservice segments, including hotels, restaurants, colleges, hospitals, corporate dining facilities, contract management, casinos, military installations, schools, grocery stores and senior living facilities. For more information, visit www.leanpath.com.

Media Contact
Janet Haugan
503-928-9085
jhaugan@leanpath.com

A key part of pre-consumer waste reduction is tracking and categorizing your waste daily. Like reconciling the cash drawer, you can’t just do it every so often and assume that it’s the same every other day.

By tracking daily you will begin to identify day-of-the-week trends. Following are a few lessons learned from LeanPath clients.

• Baked Goods—Adjust par levels and distribution plans as the week progresses. Lower par levels toward the end of the work week at locations that will be closed on weekends and become more active in transferring product during the day between locations.
• Grab-n-Go Production—Examine your daily Grab-n-Go waste closely. One LeanPath client discovered that expiration tags containing only a date were being thrown out 24 hours early, so they added a date and time to avoid staff confusion and cut down on waste.
• Specials Stealing the Show—One LeanPath client noticed that waste was exceptionally high every Wednesday. When we dug deeper, we discovered they were running a weekly special station was diverting a large number of sales away from the other static stations. This special station was extremely popular each week, however production levels at the static stations were not being adjusted down to compensate for the shift in demand. By adjusting production levels according to customer preferences, this site dramatically lowered Wednesday waste.

Examining your pre-consumer food waste every day will help you spot trends, make changes and prevent that waste from occurring in the future.

Executive Chef Reuben Sandoval

Laramie County Community College (LCCC) began using the LeanPath System in late August 2012 to track all of its food waste across dining, daycare, catering and the coffee shop. LeanPath sat down with Chef Rueben Sandoval to hear about how they’ve been using the system to reduce food waste.

Tell me a little about your background and role at LCCC.
“I’ve been in foodservice for 12 years—I’ve been a chef for 8 of those years. I’ve worked at the Governor’s Residence, the Denver Country Club, worked independently as a specialty cake designer, as well as volunteered demonstrations for lower-income families, teaching them how to cook and use food properly while reducing waste and cost. Here at LCCC I have various duties—I manage the flow of food, catering, training/staff advisement and maintain/write menus in conjunction with Sodexo standards.”

What are some strategies you’ve used to reduce waste?
“We saw mostly vegetables being wasted so we started figuring out what we could do. If items were expiring in the cooler, how could we curb that from happening? One solution we developed was to blanch the vegetables, cool them and freeze them in storage bags. To prevent fresh herbs from being wasted we started putting herbs into muffin trays, adding just enough water to cover and freezing them. When we thaw them out, they maintain the same flavor and color. We also finely chop herbs, lay them on lined sheet pans and put them on top of the oven—by the end of the day we have dried herbs.”

What changes have you seen in terms of culture?
“Our SWAT [Stop Waste Action Team] is the whole staff—we are all accountable. Every week we post data by the time clock and bring it to meetings and talk about it. We discuss what’s left-over and brainstorm creative recipe solutions daily. The attitude and culture has changed in the kitchen as far as understanding what we’re doing, why we are doing it and holding each other accountable. Where we used to have four dumpsters, now there are two. The staff is aware that by reducing waste, we save money that can then be put toward pay raises, equipment purchases, new or replacement utensils, etc. They are involved and motivated as a team.”

What is the best part about using the LeanPath System?
“The data that comes back—it’s so fantastic. My staff members are visual learners. They want to see if they’ve improved; want to see progression. I can tell them night and day, our numbers are good, food cost is good…but the data print-outs and digital scale with their names on it makes them feel included and shows them that they’re doing a great job.”

In their first three months using the LeanPath System, LCCC reduced pre-consumer food waste by 33%.

Our mission at LeanPath is to “take a bite out of global food waste.” When we started out on this mission back in 2004, not many people were focused on food waste as a serious, global issue. Today the landscape is much different, and food waste is shining bright in the spotlight. Advocates, experts and even political leaders are keeping the issue at the forefront (see article on Chinese president Xi Jinping’s Sudden Concern for Wasting Food).

With the intense focus on the food waste problem comes an equally intense interest in solutions to combat it. The UN Environmental Program recently announced its global Think. Eat. Save. campaign designed to change consumer behavior around food waste. In commercial foodservice, composting and food donation have received a great deal of attention. Unfortunately, waste prevention—not creating the food waste in the first place—tends to get overlooked. Many people wonder “what can I really do to prevent waste?”

Of course, we know that daily food waste tracking represents a hugely powerful strategy which changes culture and reduces waste dramatically. We were excited when LeanPath was recognized recently as an important food waste solution by Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine: Don’t Throw That Out! LeanPath Harnesses Data to Fight Food Waste. The article highlights the great work many of our client partners have been doing to prevent and minimize food waste and their excellent results, including the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. We’re very proud of their accomplishments on the leading edge of food waste reduction. Click here to read the full article.

Looking for creative ways to cut down on food waste? Our field trainers share some best practices from the LeanPath community.

• Transform batch cooking into made-to-order. Too often, batch cooking means “one or two big batches.” This always leads to food waste because you can’t match production to demand. Cook in smaller portions, with the goal of getting as close to cooking-to-order as possible.
• Garnish last. Wait to put the seasonings or sauces on products until right before they go to the line (example: waiting to put a glaze on carrots). This increases re-use opportunities for those carrots and ensures a fresher product.
• Make “half and half” pizzas. During the last hour of the service period, make one pizza with different sets of toppings on each half. You can still accommodate different tastes without creating extra waste.
• Make frozen herb cubes. By freezing fresh herbs in ice cubes, you preserve their color and flavor. You can use just what you need and save the rest for later.
• Encourage proper consumer portioning: Make sure the serving utensils on self-service lines are sized to the correct portion size. Don’t put a large cook’s ladle out when you want your guests to take only 20% of that as a standard portion.

We want to hear from you! Share your tips with the LeanPath community on the LeanPath Facebook Page.

You’ve seen it many times. A customer leaves a large quantity of uneaten food on his or her plate and you have to throw it away. You think: if I’d only served them a smaller portion, there would have been much less waste. But you remind yourself that customers want big portions, they perceive them as a sign of value, and “more” is simply “better.”

But there’s good news: trends are changing. Smaller portions are in and “super-sizing” is getting a bad name.

A recent Forbes article, Don’t Supersize Me: Chain Restaurants Must Cut Calories For Their Own Business Good, highlighted that 66% of American adults are choosing smaller portions at mealtime according to research from the Natural Marketing Institute. They also cite a Hudson Institute Study released this February which shows that sales of smaller portion items represent growth opportunities. The study examined 21 U.S. restaurant chains and found that, although the total number of meals served fell 1.6% from 2006 to 2011, servings of lower-calorie items actually grew 2.5%.

So what does all of this mean for foodservice operators? If you’ve been thinking about reducing portion sizes to reduce post-consumer waste and encourage health/wellness, now is the time to start testing it and getting feedback from your customers. You can potentially boost sales and customer satisfaction while reducing food waste. The icing on this (now smaller) cake: you don’t have to adjust your prices as much as you reduce your portions, so you have a chance to improve your margins on smaller portions while lowering your food costs. When portions better match customer needs, there will be less food wasted and your bottom line will benefit. It’s a win-win.

(Want to know how much post-consumer waste you have? Start measuring.  LeanPath offers tools for both pre- and post-consumer food waste tracking. Learn more.)

Executive Chef Timothy Cunningham

Northern Arizona University (NAU) began using the LeanPath System in late June 2012, installing automated tracking systems in both of their dining halls. LeanPath sat down with executive chef Timothy Cunningham to learn more about their experience with the system and changes they’ve made to reduce food waste in their kitchens.

Tell me a little about your background and role at NAU.
“I’ve been at NAU since ’96. I’m originally from San Diego and started in foodservice when I was 16 years old—over 30 years of experience now. Coming from the restaurant environment to residential dining has been a learning process. I’ve really enjoyed it.”

What were your expectations for the LeanPath program?
“Just being more aware of the waste—training front-line staff on how the program works and what shouldn’t be wasted. When you see a dollar amount, the staff members are like ‘wow—this is really worth that much?’ It keeps them more conscious of waste and diligent in finding ways to reduce it.”

What are some strategies you’ve used to reduce waste?
“Vegetables were a high-waste item for us. So we started utilizing left-over veggies to make veggie broth for our stir-fry station. We also properly cool down veggies from our Simple Servings Station to use them in other recipes the next day. We recently made a creamy veggie cheddar soup (rather than just broccoli cheddar) and it got very good reviews. Our diner station used to have a lot of burger and chicken patties left over. We’ve reduced that by doing more cook-to order once we reach a certain time before closing. Anything else can be ground up to be re-used or cut up for soups, etc. We’ve done a great job at reducing waste and left overs.”

What is the best part about using the LeanPath System?
“Awareness—bottom line. Sharing the information with front-line staff. It also provides us with measurable data to share with the university as it relates to the strategic plan for waste reduction.”

What would you say to a chef/manager that is not currently tracking food waste?
“You better start now!”

In their first five months using the LeanPath System, NAU has reduced pre-consumer food waste by 21%.

To learn more about how the LeanPath program could help your organization reduce food waste, contact us at info@leanpath.com.

Chef Jared Prows has been executive chef at St. Mary’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado, for three years. St. Mary’s Hospital is part of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System (SCLHS), a non-profit, faith-based system with 16 locations. They currently utilize the LeanPath Food Waste Tracking System at seven hospitals within the healthcare system.

Why did you decide to implement the LeanPath System at St. Mary’s?

“There was a big push to tackle food waste and reduce our impact on how much product was going in the landfill. We use waste buckets that are reviewed daily. Having the LeanPath System in place and being able to adjust it to my needs was fantastic.”

What were your expectations for the LeanPath program?

“When we first implemented the system, I was skeptical. But over the period of the next couple months we really saw results. We had numbers we could show the staff and say, ‘hey, this really does work.’”

What opportunities did you spot immediately with your waste data?

“Soup prep was huge eye-opener. Across the system there were gallons of soup getting thrown away at the end of the night. This was the first thing our SWAT [Stop Waste Action Team] covered in quarter one. We looked at different options—could we blast chill and use the next day? Cook smaller batches? Next quarter we looked at grab-‘n-go waste, and so on. We have a monthly teleconference with all of the hospitals and the data allows us to quantify things objectively.”

How has food waste tracking changed your staff culture?

“Cooks have taken it to heart. They challenge each other every day. Each time we review the waste, we ask, ‘what would you do differently tomorrow that you didn’t do today?’ Utilize on tray lines for room service? Use extras for the salad line? Letting them have a part in it has been critical—putting it in their hands so they feel like they are part of the answer, not just part of the problem. We’ve seen a dramatic change.”

What is the best part about using the LeanPath System?

“How easy it is. There’s two seconds worth of training and you get it. It takes me five seconds to download data. You hit a button and you’re done. Not only does it not add staff time, it actually makes my staff more productive. After a while, it’s integrated into their day.”

What would you say to chefs that aren’t currently tracking food waste?

“Get started. Now’s the time. Food prices are through the roof, and most budgets are stagnant. The best place to save right now is before it becomes waste. Minimize your waste; hold your staff accountable. Wasted food is money in the garbage.”

Since implementation of the LeanPath Food Waste Tracking System, St. Mary’s has reduced its pre-consumer food waste by 54% and reduced its food costs by 3%.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a Food Recovery Challenge last year with a goal to take a bite out of food waste. Our mission at LeanPath is very similar, and we encourage our clients to take part in this exciting challenge (if you haven’t already)!

The Food Recovery Challenge is a public commitment to reduce food waste reaching landfills through prevention, donation, composting and/or anaerobic digestion.

There are significant financial and environmental benefits to reducing your food waste. It boosts your bottom line—when you waste less you buy less food and save on disposal fees. It helps the environment—less food in the landfill equates to lower GHG emissions. And finally, it shows your commitment to sustainable foodservice, leading to positive recognition.

If you’re a LeanPath client, you can use your system to measure your progress to goals set through the Food Recovery Challenge. The two programs work hand-in-hand to ensure your success. Make a public commitment to reduce your food waste, then use LeanPath’s automated tools to measure, track and achieve those goals!

Here are some quick links for more information:

• Learn more about the EPA Food Recovery Challenge
• Sign up to participate
• See who else is participating in the Challenge
• Contact LeanPath for support on completing the EPA Food Management Cost Calculator based on your LeanPath Food Waste Tracking data (LeanPath customers only).
• Not a LeanPath customer? Contact us to learn more about how we can help.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013
10:00 am PT / 11:00 am MT/ Noon CT / 1:00 pm ET
Duration: 1 hour

Register here: https://leanpath-events.webex.com/leanpath-events/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=660340710

Most hospitals and health systems throw out 4-10% of food before it even reaches a patient or visitor’s plate, due to overproduction, spoilage and excessive trim. By tracking this waste and making changes to prevent it, you can reduce pre-consumer food waste by as much as 80%, save money on food purchases and save the environment.

This Web seminar will explore strategies for food waste prevention, including daily tracking, awareness and team culture. Food and nutrition leadership from Sanford USD Medical Center will discuss their integrated strategy to reduce food waste, including pre-consumer food waste tracking, which helped them save nearly $100,000 in less than one year.  They will explore how waste data revealed some immediate changes, including menu modifications, seasonal adjustments and retraining staff. They will also discuss how they have successfully involved staff in the process of reviewing the waste data and making changes, which has heightened overall awareness about the cost of food and the importance of minimizing waste.

This presentation will present tips to reduce food waste and provide actionable guidance on how to get started with a food waste prevention program at your hospital or health system.

What You Will Learn

• Strategies to reduce food waste at the source and minimize the negative environmental impacts.
• How Sanford USD Medical Center has successfully reduced pre-consumer food waste by more than 40%.
• How culture impacts food waste and how you can build a team focused on prevention.
• Getting started today with an action plan to reduce food waste at your hospital or health system.

This Web seminar is open to anyone who wants to learn more about food waste prevention in the hospital setting.

Click here to register: https://leanpath-events.webex.com/leanpath-events/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=660340710