---
title: How Elior North America and Constellation Culinary Group reduced food waste by 42%
description: Elior North America and Constellation Culinary Group cut food waste 42% in eight months at a San Francisco workplace cafe using Leanpath tracking data.
---

[Food Waste Intelligence | Leanpath Blog](https://blog.leanpath.com)

# [How Elior North America and Constellation Culinary Group reduced food waste by 42%](https://blog.leanpath.com/how-elior-constellation-culinary-group-reduced-food-waste)

 Written by [Leanpath](https://blog.leanpath.com/author/leanpath) | November 3, 2026

At a professional dining location in San Francisco, workplace dining is an intentional part of the employee experience, giving people access to fresh, thoughtful food that fuels their workday and connects them with their colleagues in the cafe.

Through their partnership with Elior North America and Constellation Culinary Group, this professional dining location offers breakfast and lunch each weekday, an all-day barista program, rotating grab and go options, made to order meals, chef showcases, and a weekly complimentary lunch. Delivering that experience requires constant attention to variety, seasonality, employee preferences, and participation. 

Earlier this year, Elior North America and Constellation Culinary Group introduced Leanpath, a [food waste tracking](https://www.leanpath.com/products/food-waste-tracking/) platform that helps culinary teams measure what is being discarded, identify trends, and use that data to make more informed decisions about their operation. This added an important layer to their daily operations, helping the team better understand food waste, leading to a 42% reduction without disrupting service or the overall dining experience. 

## Creating an Intentional Dining Experience

The Constellation Culinary Group team regularly adjusts menus based on seasonal ingredients, participation, employee preferences, and lessons from previous services.  
Traditional cycle menus allow culinary teams to repeat dishes, learn from each service, and refine production over time. Menus are intentionally varied, so the same dish may not return at all.

Leanpath helps apply insights beyond a single meal by identifying patterns that can carry across different dishes and service styles. What is learned from one service can inform future decisions around portions, purchasing, production, and ingredient use, even when the exact meal is never repeated.

These insights maintain the variety employees enjoy and create an evolving program that is more thoughtful and efficient.

## Turning Waste Awareness Into Measurable Action

For eight months, all four members of the on-site culinary team tracked food waste with Leanpath. That consistent measurement identified where waste occurred and where small operational changes could have a larger impact.

For example, Leanpath data showed higher waste during sandwich and [salad bar](https://info.leanpath.com/whitepaper-preventing-food-waste-at-the-salad-bar) services. The team responded by placing smaller quantities on the line and [replenishing throughout service](https://blog.leanpath.com/cutting-food-waste-46-how-elior-north-america-turned-data-into-daily-action-at-west-virginia-university) instead of preparing the entire anticipated volume at once.

The team also used waste trends to inform purchasing and production. This was particularly valuable for Tuesday’s complimentary lunch, one of the highest-volume and most variable services of the week.

Within eight months, the Constellation Culinary Group team reduced food waste by 42% and maintained the variety and quality of the dining experience. That progress became visible in everyday service. During one recent Tuesday lunch, the team produced 115 pounds of food and finished with approximately six pounds remaining.

The waste tracking doesn't stop there. The on-site team also partners with local food programs to donate eligible surplus. These donations are tracked in Leanpath and provide a more complete picture of their overall waste-reduction efforts.

## Building an Even Better Program Together

The 42% reduction demonstrated what is possible when strong culinary operations are paired with better visibility and measurement.

This [partnership](https://blog.leanpath.com/elior-deploys-leanpath-ai-enabled-food-waste-management) allows Elior North America, Constellation Culinary Group, and Leanpath to collaborate more efficiently and connect dining preferences, participation, production, purchasing, and food waste in a more measurable way.

As more data is collected, those insights can help continue refining the dining program while preserving what matters most: variety, hospitality, quality, and an intentional [workplace dining](https://blog.leanpath.com/google-achieves-its-moonshot-reduction-in-food-waste) experience.

[View full post](https://blog.leanpath.com/how-elior-constellation-culinary-group-reduced-food-waste)

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