Food Waste Intelligence

Ten years ago the Martinsburg VA Medical Center, in Martinsburg, West Virginia, launched its Green Kitchen initiative, a precedent-setting sustainability program in the Veteran’s Administration. Food waste is a central focus, and working with Leanpath from the start, the foodservice team has prevented over 330,000 pounds of food from being wasted.

The impact of COVID-19 on the foodservice and hospitality industry is hitting fast and, at least for now, hard. During any time of uncertainty, it’s important to focus on what you can actually control. There are ways kitchens can increase efficiency during slow times--or anytime for that matter--and take greater control of the impact of that slow down on their bottom line. 

Executive Chef Brian Deegan runs the foodservice operation at Marriott’s Hotel Alfonso XIII in Seville, Spain. The 150-room hotel has five restaurants and bars, with a third of its F&B revenue from banquet events. Chef Deegan is a self-confessed numbers guy. “I like to run a tight ship,” he says. “I don’t want to sound like a scrooge, but we’re a kitchen not a supermarket. I buy fresh food to sell not to keep on the shelves.” He embraced food waste tracking and the insight it provided on how to be more efficient. And he’s shown big results: a 66 percent reduction in food waste by value, and a 58 percent reduction by weight.

Executive Chef Shaun Woodhouse and his team at the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa Edinburgh discovered opportunities to cut their waste and began changing purchasing and prep to drive results, which have been impressive: a 64% reduction in food waste value and a 58% reduction in weight. They’ve maintained these levels over time as Leanpath became a “business as usual” component of their kitchen. “The support from Leanpath has been great.”

IKEA Canada achieved its goal of reducing food waste in its kitchens by over 30 percent within one year of implementing Leanpath. IKEA Canada’s effort is part of a larger global ambition to diminish food waste in all IKEA stores by 50 percent before the end of August 2020. More than 94,000 kilograms of food waste—equivalent to approximately 200,000 meals—has been saved since the program started in Canada.