In a nutshell, all that food going to waste from your restaurant is actually money. It’s not just garbage; it’s your investment going “sour”. Like you’re being mugged, but you’re doing it to yourself – in small doses, taking those crisp notes from your pocket and throwing them in a bin. Like tissues. It probably doesn’t end there. Oh, no. Then you’re going to pay some waste disposal company to get rid of your money, in garbage form, of course.
These days there are many good ways to reduce and control your food waste, or to call it by its proper name – Waste food management.
One thing I would start with is garbage audit. What it basically means is that you physically monitor your waste, food or otherwise. The benefits are pretty obvious, actually. When you know what food is being thrown away as leftover majority, you can, let’s say order those items in smaller quantities next time you talk to your suppliers.
That actually gave an introduction to my next recommendation –precycling. Precycling is a process of reducing waste at the source. In another words, there isn’t a better way of reducing waste than not making any in the first place!
Moving on, recycling itself. For a successful recycling campaign, there should be a separate, designated bin for recyclables. As well as compost and landfill, for that matter. You could build a system that would ensure that the most of the restaurant waste is recyclable or reusable. That would include packaging like cardboard, recyclable plastics and so on.
Composting is another great idea that could remove great amounts of waste. It is a process of separating your organic scraps, mainly vegetable trimmings (because they are preferred) from the rest of the food like dairy products, meat or oils. There are websites these days that can help you find a local composter, if you’re in a need of one.
How about changing the menu? You’ve pinpointed the items on your menu that are always, or in most cases, coming back with leftovers. So, besides having smaller portions (as another advice), you can freeze leftover, UNSERVED food and make it next day specials, for example. That would only involve ingredients that could endure the freezing process and be reused when thawed, naturally. So, freezing surplus food is always a better option than throwing it away, but you have to make sure to abide by the health regulations and safety issues when freezing leftover food. Freezers offer the opportunity to preserve food. Use it! Vacuum pack it and freeze it for later, certainly a good way to minimize food waste.
Educating your staff is a very important part in this money – saving endeavor. They should go through a complete, thorough program so they could be properly guided and educated. Use multilingual signs, for example, if your employees are diverse nationalities.
Here’s another little “trick” you could use. Serve your portions in a smaller plate on top of a bigger plate. That way your portions will look bigger, if you decide to go with the option of reducing your portions. It will probably require an investment of a new set of plates, but in the long run, an investment that can worth your while.
Fruits and vegetables are very sensitive food. Make sure to properly store them for then you’ll extend their time of use. That would involve appropriate containers and storing temperatures. Follow those simple guidelines, and a little bit will go a long way.
Some people have even done the math and came to conclusion that 4-10% of food purchases wind up as waste never reaching the consumer. Be wise with your food management plan, rethink, reuse and buy recycled when possible.
Author bio:
Daniel Hirsch is a successful entrepreneur running a few successful companies, founder of icemachineclearance.com and several other thriving businesses. You can connect with Daniel on Google+.
