Food Waste Intelligence

For many of us, January is a time for New Year’s resolutions, both personally and professionally. After a few weeks in holiday mode, we all return to the office mentally recharged and ready to tackle the year ahead. It’s the perfect time to review your priorities and goals for the year.

So I challenge our readers: have you created a food waste reduction goal for 2015? If so, what is the specific target you want to reach?

Creating a goal motivates action, especially when we communicate that goal to others and make a public commitment. Start a challenge or commitment board in your kitchen and ask your staff if they’d like to willingly participate by signing an “I’ll do my best to minimize food waste” pledge. In the book Community-Based Social Marketing, this point is emphasized: people that agree to a small request subsequently will agree to much larger requests. For example, a group approached one day prior to Election Day that were asked “do you expect to vote?” and answered “yes” were 41% more likely to vote than others who were not asked this question. Give your staff members the opportunity to “commit” to being a part of your food waste reduction goal!

Through LeanPath data we have found that measuring and tracking your food waste on a daily basis results in a 50% reduction or more in pre-consumer food waste. If you’re not tracking your food waste, your goal for 2015 could be a 50% reduction! If you’re already tracking your food waste, challenge and “stretch” your staff to do even better. We find that there is always more efficiency to be gained if you really dig into the data to see what’s really happening in your kitchens.

Reducing your food waste makes good business sense (since it reduces food costs), aligns with sustainable initiatives, and is an initiative that can bring together your whole team towards a common, shared goal. We’d love to hear from you—tell us what your number is and how we can support you towards that goal.