Food Waste Intelligence

A new report from Stanford University says that the potency of methane as a contributor to global warming is being dramatically undervalued based on an “arbitrary and unjustified” measuring system put in place by the Kyoto Protocol.

The report is the latest in a growing chorus of international calls to put greater emphasis on reducing methane emissions to address climate change. This greater focus on methane, the primary greenhouse gas released from food waste, puts even more importance on the need to address the food waste crisis as a lever in combating global warming.

When COVID-19 took hold in 2020, one of the first dramatic changes in foodservice was the disappearance of buffets and salad bars. As the industry (and the world) continues to return to something more like a pre-pandemic normal, self-serve operations continue to come back online. Las Vegas, one of the buffet capitals of the world, continues its dining return; Disney Parks continues reopening buffet service; and one of the U.S.’s leading college trend setters, Penn State, just reintroduced self service.  

While this is positive news for the industry, the return of buffets and salad bars brings with it the probability of increased food waste, particularly as staff reacquaint themselves with these service styles.

Here are some best practices to avoid food waste as you bring buffets and salad bars back:

Sodexo, through its foodservice work at Good Samaritan Medical Center, in Lafayette, Colorado, is a national award winner in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies 2021 Food Recovery Challenge competition. Sodexo won the award for its work preventing food waste with Leanpath.

“Our success with waste reduction throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is truly a testament to our team and their resiliency, consistency, and hard work,” said Natosha Jergensen, General Manager, Sodexo at Good Samaritan Medical Center. “We believe sustainability isn't just a trend, and we are committed to improving our efforts daily. We see it as our mission now and in the future.”

UVA Dine, operated by Aramark, has been tracking food waste with Leanpath since 2018. The team has racked up impressive results using the program, including reducing their food waste by 59%. They have achieved these results by using tracking data to identify food waste instances and trends and addressing them with their kitchen teams.

The challenges faced by the foodservice industry in 2021–rising food and labor costs and disrupted supply chains–put a fine point on the need to prevent food waste and its financial burden. The growing body of evidence connecting food waste and climate change created even more urgency for foodservice organizations.

Working with those organizations in over 40 countries, Leanpath and its partners prevented 14 million pounds of food from going to waste, bringing the total impact since 2004–when Leanpath introduced food waste prevention solutions–to 90 million pounds. 

That equates to 75 million meals kept in the food system for those who need them. And over 284 thousand metric tons of CO² kept out of our skies.

Here are a few other highlights from the year: