Food Waste Intelligence

For foodservice operators, managing costs has always been a balancing act—but in today’s economy, that balance is becoming harder to maintain. Rising food prices, supply chain disruptions, and inflationary pressures are already squeezing margins, and now, new tariffs on imported goods are set to make food even more expensive. With these financial challenges looming, preventing food waste is no longer just a sustainability goal—it’s a crucial business strategy for survival.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has released an easy-to-use calculator that allows foodservice operations and others to calculate the methane emissions they’ve avoided by preventing food waste going to landfill. When food decomposes in the landfill, it generates methane, a greenhouse gas that is more than 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere. According to the EPA, wasted food causes 58 percent of methane emissions from landfills.

Compass Group Australia has cut its total food waste by 34% since 2022 using Leanpath. The results were reported in Compass Group’s 2024 Sustainability Report. The report highlights: “Over the last three years, our Australian business has continued to deploy Leanpath’s industry leading technology into over 200 sites across the country. By using the system, they have been able to track the total weight of food items repurposed. This year, a reported 45,000kg of food that would have otherwise been wasted, has been utilised.”

Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, United States, is a 489-bed facility with more than 8,300 team members. Its foodservice operation includes room service; a retail café with scratch-made meals that operates 20 hours a day; an ancillary retail location with pizzas, sandwiches and salads; and a staff dining area. It serves an average of 3,000 retail meals and 1,000 patient meals per day. Carle Health is committed to building a legacy of sustainability, guided by the direct link between environmental health and population he...

Food waste is a significant challenge for kitchens everywhere, especially plate waste, which can account for more than 60% of an operation’s food waste. But reducing it is not out of reach. In a recent webinar presented by Leanpath in partnership with U.S. Foods, chefs Liz Howe, Ben Murphy, and Robb White shared practical, field-tested interventions to tackle plate waste effectively. Here's a breakdown of their insights and strategies: