Food Waste Focus

Managers seeking food waste reduction ideas have a great resource right under their noses that they must rely upon for success.  Front-line employees (hourly staff) are underutilized resources that are critical in this endeavor. Who has more knowledge of the food’s life cycle than the staff?  From the receiving, storing, production, holding, service and disposal, [...]

Did you know? – Restaurants and foodservice buildings use more energy per square-foot than any other type of commercial building. Industry-wide, an estimated 80 percent of the energy is wasted through inefficient equipment. That waste eats away at profit margins. I recently met with Tricia McGuire from the Energy Trust of Oregon to discuss waste [...]

I’m excited to share an article I wrote  for FCSI’s The Consultant magazine which provides an overview of many aspects of food waste management. The topic is a moving target due to constant innovation.

Almost every foodservice operator brews coffee and in many operations this is an expensive, premium product.  Customers have high expectations for their java and, in the post-Starbucks era of extensive beverage customization, they aren’t particularly patient when we run out of their favorite blend or the decaf.  So we start the day in a buffet, or [...]

Sustainable Industries published a piece today on Swedish Medical Center in Seattle and their use of LeanPath’s food waste tracking tools.   Swedish has been a foodservice pioneer for years; in fact they were one of the very first hospitals in the US to launch hotel-style room service for patient feeding.  They are playing the same [...]

We’re all familiar with the tradeoffs between time, cost and quality/scope.  If we want something done well and fast, we have to pay more.   If we want it fast and cheap, we have to compromise on quality or scope.  If we want it done well and cheap, we may have to wait a long time.  [...]

I just returned from Cedar Rapids, working with a hospital within the Iowa Health System launching a continuous food waste tracking program from our team at LeanPath.  Iowa Health has been very proactive in launching food waste source reduction programs at four of their largest hospitals over the past year, making them one of the most [...]

Karen Malody makes excellent points in her recent article in Foodservice Equipment & Supplies about the importance of taking a detailed and systemic approach to cost control during this recession.  There are many dollars to be saved in the “back of the house” just by paying attention, returning to basics, and tracking data on actual costs [...]

The Green Guide for Healthcare recently released it’s updated Operations section (version 2.2) which includes credits for foodservice waste reduction. Visit the Green Guide to read the details, which are in Section 6.1 on Food Waste Reduction, Donation and Composting. This is an excellent resource for any healthcare foodservice director. It provides a clear roadmap [...]