When we think about food waste we often reflect on the food that goes in the trash can directly from our plates. As it turns out the food waste problem starts much further up the chain at the farm. Each year millions of tons of food go in the trash because these items are misshapen. Supermarkets simply won’t sell “ugly” produce.

A group in the UK called Feeding the 5,000 is bringing awareness to this issue. In November they hosted the first public free meal made entirely of misshapen ingredients. The end product was a delicious curry, with ingredients donated directly by local farmers.

Due to current regulations in the UK consumers can’t access these unsightly goods. However, Feeding the 5,000 hopes that this event will inspire the public. As one participant stated, “Children aren’t getting enough quality food and obesity is a major issue. If the government cannot afford to provide free school meals for everyone, then why not find a way to get all this healthy food that’s being wasted delivered to schools and help cut down the nation’s obesity rate? If all the food that’s here today was destined for landfill, something is seriously wrong with our society.”

The same policies and issues surrounding food exist in the U.S. as well. Across the country there are small efforts being made but at the end of the day we need a coordinated effort to make sure food resources are managed effectively. From the farm to preparation and finally disposal we need a comprehensive food waste management system.

A recent study in Loveland, Texas highlights just how much food is left uneaten in K-12 environments. At three local elementary schools it was found that 25% of food goes in the trash. Fruits and vegetables comprise about 50% of this waste.

Usually this is where plate waste studies stop but the Loveland school district took the investigation one step further. Comparative analysis revealed that there was a lot less waste at one of the elementary schools. At this particular school the recess break period occurs before lunch. This simple schedule variation dramatically increases the amount of fruits, vegetables, and milk that are consumed, thereby decreasing food waste.

Food waste can seem like a daunting issue but through tracking, measurement, and analysis it’s possible to identify key trends and devise effective solutions. From simple solutions, like adjusting the schedule, to food waste tracking systems, there are a variety of ways to prevent and minimize food waste.

With ValuWaste Advantage 4, operators now have the ability to create Comparison Reports that contrast the most recently completed weeks food waste against a previous week, a previous menu cycle or a custom time period. These exciting recent additions show specifically which food categories, loss reasons and even stations were “higher” in the previous cycle. This gives you information to work with your team to improve those results the next time.

Enlarge Report | Learn More About ValuWaste Advantage

Veteran LeanPath clients use Comparison Reports to catch “spikes” in the data. They then use this information to immediately focus attention on the “spike” and work with the team to create an action plan to avoid it happening again.

Comparison reports are also used by LeanPath clients to monitor progress on waste reduction goals. Working on a goal to reduce “casserole” waste by 50%? Use a Comparison Report each week to check your progress on this goal vs. the previous week. Things moving in the right direction? Celebrate success with the team, document the Best Practices and keep working on it. Little or no change? Use the data to share with the team and test new actions until you see improvement.

LeanPath has been in contact with a class from East Academy in Tennessee.  A group of kids there have started a food waste study of their own, as part of a school project.  They recently asked us for sample reports about the kinds of waste a typical foodservice operation produces.  I hope they aren’t too shocked by the information!  Like a typical large hospital can throw out $300 of ‘overproduced’ eggs each week.  Also, a typical university dining hall can toss out about 2,000 pounds of food per week.  That’s just pre-consumer waste, not tray waste.

I felt this was also an excellent example of teaching kids about food waste.  Read this blog snipet from http://fruitguys.com:

I’m a chaperone on my son’s 3-day, 5th grade outdoor education trip. We’re on a bus heading back from a camp in Santa Cruz…when a 5th grade girl in front of me leans around…“Wha-cha-do-in?” she chimes…She takes a bite of apple. She’s eaten it from the top – core and all. “I’m part of the hard-core-apple-club” she beams. “Red Tail showed me how.” Red Tail was the nature name for the camp counselor who led the garbology exercise. After each meal the kids scraped leftovers onto a scale and weighed them. Then they talked about how what remained affected the energy cycle. I also really appreciated the cabin rules my student group laid down such as “no using big words” and “absolutely no gambling,” but it was the garbology experiment that really caught my attention.

In three days our group of 60 kids went from producing 9 pounds of leftover food at the end of their meals to 3 pounds. A pretty good change just because they were conscious of it. Taking what you need and not more is a good lesson for kids (and adults). What I really liked about the experiment was that it taught conservation and in my book—whether you’re a business owner looking for efficiencies, a farmer hoping to reduce waste and increase yield, an individual looking to lessen your carbon or energy footprint, or a city looking to reduce waste—conservation is an important lifelong lesson that has only positive implications for everyone. No doubt that good habits start young but we all can create new habits at any age. – blog by:  Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com

Both groups are learning the importance of conservation.  Being aware of your food choices and the food waste you produce.  Great lessons to teach the next generation.

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture created this produce calculator so that when a foodservice director  says, “I need enough apples/pears/oranges to serve 300 1/4 cup servings to the students” that measurement will be converted to to cases or pounds.  This easy conversion tool helps to prevent waste through planning – by stating only the case amount or pounds need to serve your number of students (or patients, or guests).  This can help your cooks or prep staff to get a better idea of what ’300 portions’ looks like in the bulk state.

(BTW: 300 1/4 cup portions = 20.3 lbs)

This produce calculator can be especially helpful at the salad bar.  Look at your POS reports for the retail operations.  Do you sell 100 ‘salad bars’ per day?  200?  Adjust prep sheets to reflect the differences between sales and prep.

This is a free document that you can download as an excel spreadsheet, with a very straight-forward design.  Try it out.  Click on this link, then scroll to the bottom of the page: Produce Calculator

How much food is wasted in grade schools?  We know that about 25% of household waste is food.  Compare that to 45% of waste in schools K-6.  Middle and High schools are a little less at 31%, but still significant.

An interesting study taking place in the UK by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) – focuses on primary school waste:

“We want to find out if the waste is coming from preparation in the canteen, whether it is being cooked but not served, or served but not eaten, or whether it is from packed lunches,” she says. “We need to understand more about the problem to know what to do about it.”

At LeanPath we have been tracking and analyzing food waste for the past six years.  We know that simply acknowledging that there is some amount of food waste is the best first step.  The next steps are to track-reduce-monitor.

What are some of the ways that we can reduce food waste in our school system?

• We’ve all heard the expression “you can lead a horse to water, but can’t make it drink”.  The same holds true for school kids.  You can give them delicious whole fruit – but they probably won’t eat it.  The solution?  Cut fruit into small pieces.  Kids would rather eat several small chunks than take a bite out of a whole apple.
• Are you over ordering raw supplies.  Can you produce less waste with pre-cut or pre-portioned items?
• Reducing portion size.  Little bellies, little portions.
• Serving foods that appeal to children.   Be careful with this one!  If given the opportunity most kids will only ‘like’ chocolate or candy; or only ‘want’ to eat mac and cheese.
• Give children choices – but not too many.  We all eat with our eyes first, kids too.  They might get excited by different foods, take them on their tray – but then can’t eat all of it.  So they throw it away.  Colleges and universities have tried to reduce this by going ‘trayless’ in their food areas.  A student can take whatever they can carry, and go back for seconds if they want more.  This has dramatically reduced the amount of post-consumer waste in schools that started this program.

What have you done to reduce food waste at your school?  Feel free to share your ideas with others.  We all need to work together.