Food Waste Intelligence

Food waste is a major problem in the healthcare foodservice settings, representing a significant inefficiency that no operation can afford. In our recent webinar, hosted in partnership with Premier, we spoke with Kevin Steffes, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Carle Health, about how their team achieved an impressive 44% reduction in food waste in one year. This success not only aligns with their commitment to sustainability but has also generated a substantial return on investment.

Why focus on food waste? 

For Carle Health, the decision to prioritize food waste prevention was a blend of core values and financial prudence. As a healthcare foodservice leader, Kevin feels a responsibility to be a good steward of resources. Food waste prevention is an issue that sits at the nexus of several key priorities: social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and financial efficiency. For Carle Health, it was an opportunity to positively impact the community, support the organization's broader sustainability goals, and enhance their financial standing.

Getting buy-in from administration was made easier by the clear financial benefits and the fact that the project complemented other sustainability initiatives already underway, such as eliminating Styrofoam packaging. This approach allowed Kevin to make a compelling case that food waste prevention was a strategic effort worthy of investment.

Immediate engagement from the staff

When implementing Leanpath, the Carle Health team was surprised and energized by the immediate positive response from staff. It was clear that team members, particularly younger generations, understood the importance of environmental responsibility and were eager to embrace a solution. This awareness, coupled with the user-friendly nature of Leanpath's AI-enabled tools, made the transition seamless.

One of the most significant early wins for the team was using Leanpath's data to confirm what they had long suspected: overproduction was a major source of waste. With data and real-world images from the Leanpath system, they were able to implement more frequent, smaller batches to meet demand without overproducing. They also used the data to address excessive waste from bakery items at a smaller café, shifting to a more "just-in-time" ordering model.

The most transformative change, however, was the shift in team culture. Staff began proactively identifying waste reduction opportunities and suggesting solutions, turning the responsibility of food waste prevention into a shared mission rather than a top-down mandate.

The power of AI and smart goals

Carle Health’s 44% reduction represents the "low-hanging fruit" of waste prevention, achieved through a combination of increased awareness and simple operational changes. But for ongoing success, they rely on Leanpath's AI and smart goal-setting features.

The Leanpath platform automatically identifies top waste opportunities and provides time-bound goals to tackle them. For example, the system flagged a significant amount of waste from breakfast sandwiches. The team quickly responded by shifting from cooking ahead of time to cooking to order, leading to a substantial reduction in waste for that specific menu item. This ability to break down a large problem into manageable, actionable steps has been key to their success.

Kevin's team has also started using Leanpath's AI-enabled machine vision tracking, which auto-classifies food waste, making the process even faster and easier for staff.

A sustainable future

Looking ahead, Carle Health is not only working to integrate Leanpath with their back-office software for even richer data but is also expanding the program to other facilities. The goal is to establish volume-based metrics to measure their waste per meal served. While they haven't formally set a target, a 50% food waste reduction goal is certainly within reach.

The success at Carle Health demonstrates that investing in food waste prevention is a powerful way to achieve multiple organizational goals. It’s not just about a return on investment; it’s about creating a culture where every team member is empowered to make decisions that lead to a more profitable, sustainable, and responsible operation.

Interested in learning more about Carle Health's success? Watch the full webinar recording on-demand