Food waste costs you and your customers, money. Throwing away valuable resources uneaten also holds enormous potential for environmental and social conflict, which young and future customers are not willing to accept. Did you know that if food waste was a country, it would be the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases?
In the restaurant business, we can make a real difference by eliminating food waste in our operations and thus:
Benefits
Reduce costs
Increase efficiency
Gain knowledge
Comply with regulations
Boost staff morale
Increase customer loyalty (better reviews)
Gain new customers
Build a positive image
Build a positive community impact
Prevent pollution of local and global environment
Save natural resources
The demand for food is increasing as the world ́s population grows, but farmland is finite. That ́s why preventing food waste is an important issue in terms of global food security. Every year, over 1/3 of all food produced globally goes to waste while 840 million people are going hungry to bed. Each one of them could be sufficiently fed with less than what is wasted in the US, UK and Europe every year. According to a global METRO study from 2019, 39% of METRO’s HoReCa customers want to tackle food waste in their own operations.
Avoid food waste by identifying the types of waste and where it is generated. Food waste comes from either the back of house i.e. in the kitchen before serving or from the front of the house i.e. where customers are served. Fruit and vegetables, for example, are a major contributor to food waste in a restaurant. Learn how to store them well to avoid waste. Talk with your staff and help them understand the importance of reducing waste. Discount or donate surplus food to help people and animals in need. Practice advanced ways to reduce food waste, e.g. compost food waste at your restaurant or through a local service and learn to cook with unwanted parts. Technical solutions can also improve operational efficiency and reduce food waste e.g. by managing the food waste inventory and redistribution of food online, thereby eliminating time for waste management. You can find out more about food waste reduction in our latest Food Waste Report.
Landfills should be the last place where food waste ends up!
Applications that can support with menu design or communications are:
METRO supports you with a diverse product assortment and services for your sustainability strategy. Please check out the local METRO or makro website in your country.
