Use these 16 strategies to reduce food waste in restaurants.
1. Conduct a Food Waste Audit
To reduce food waste, you must first identify the source of your waste. This can be done by creating a food tracker. It could even be a simple sheet of paper. You will need to keep track of all the food that is thrown away in your kitchen and front of the house for a certain period, like a week. Please include the item, its weight or quantity, how much was wasted, the date and time and the name of the employee who reported it.
Suppose you have been following best practices for restaurant inventory. In that case, you can compare data on your food tracker to your POS inventory reports or back office software in order to determine where the food waste comes from.
2. Promoting Sustainable Preparation
A useful strategy for managing restaurant waste is to encourage sustainable preparation. Sustainable practices are beneficial to the environment. What about another bonus? Another bonus?
Training your employees in proper food preparation methods can easily prevent food waste. You can conserve water by washing all your fruits and veggies at once. You can also use a thawing rack instead of water to thaw frozen food.
3. Don’t over-prepare for food waste reduction
The specific needs of your inventory will change depending on the season and even the day of the week. If your restaurant is on the beachfront of a touristy town, then you will need to stock up on food during the summer and weekends when the crowds flock to the water. If you are located in the business district of your city, your lunch hours may be a great time.
Instead of over-preparing, which can result in food waste, use your POS report to predict how busy your restaurant is at different times. You won’t need to waste any salad toppings that you have chopped up during preparation.
4. Improve your Inventory Management
You’ve heard the shocking statistics on food waste. But did you also know that a spilt bottle of wine can cost you anywhere between 2 and 23% of your sales? It is important to master restaurant inventory management, which includes all your food and drink items.
Use the first-in-first-out (FIFO) rotation method to manage your restaurant’s waste. This will ensure that older items are used before they go bad. Labelling all your items with the use-by date will make this easier. Use inventory management software to stay organized.
5. Storing food properly is important
Your refrigerator should be set at or below 40 degrees F. You shouldn’t allow food that requires refrigeration (including leftovers from a hot meal) to sit out at room temperature for more than two hours. To avoid food waste, your refrigerator should have a temperature of 40deg F or lower. You should never let foods that need refrigeration (including leftovers from a hot meal) sit at room temperature for longer than two hours. Frozen food should be stored below 0deg F.
Follow these temperature guidelines and have a backup plan in case things go wrong. For example, you can handle perishables during a power failure.
6. Calculate and control inventory days on hand
You can improve your inventory control by learning how to calculate the number of inventory days you have on hand. Then, you can use this calculation to determine what items and quantities to purchase from your vendors.
DOH is the time an item has spent in storage. (We’re looking at your bag of potatoes on a back shelf). You can calculate DOH by finding the average number of days that you keep inventory before you sell it. You will be successful if you have a POS system and a robust inventory tracking procedure.
7. Repurpose Ingredients
Get creative! It’s time to get creative! Find creative ways to reuse food that otherwise would go to waste. For example, turn day-old bread into croutons.
You can involve your customers in the sustainability process by asking them to share their ideas on social media. To build brand loyalty, run a contest where the winner gets a free meal. Reducing kitchen food waste is a great way to help the environment and delight your guests.
8. Find menu items that can be used for multiple purposes
A great way to reduce waste in your business is by identifying ingredients that can be used in different dishes. This includes items you buy in bulk or high quantities. You can save money by buying in bulk and ensure that your ingredients are not wasted because they’re not used enough.
Remember that too many menu options can make it difficult to identify items with multiple uses. You can streamline this process by finding other methods. Switch to a smaller menu in your restaurant. It will be easier to handle.
9. Order in Season
Avoid using ingredients that are not in season. For example, peaches are not in season during winter in Minnesota. In-season ingredients are not only a great way to reduce food waste in your restaurant, but they also allow you to source ingredients closer to home.
10. Reduce portion sizes for Food Waste Management
The average portion size at restaurants in the U.S. in 2017 was between two and eight times larger than USDA or FDA standards servings. Post-consumer waste is a major issue. If you are a restaurant owner, using smaller plates and serving less meat will help reduce the size of your portions.
11. Track Popularity of Your Dishes
It’s not a competition for popularity to have the best restaurant unless it is. Menu management systems can help restaurants reduce waste and identify dishes that are not popular. Remove these items that aren’t selling well from your menu. But no hard feelings! There will be less food wasted before consumption.
12. Reduce Food Waste by Weekly Specials
You can also be creative by creating specials using ingredients that you need to use up before they spoil. Use this opportunity to make a team culture by involving your staff. You can award a prize to the chef who has the most creative weekly special ideas or the server with the highest sales in one night.
13. Offer Takeout Containers
You’ve probably all experienced the feeling of realizing that you left your takeout container at the restaurant while on your way home. Make it easy for your guests to bring home any leftover food. Encourage guests to bring home leftovers in a doggy bag and keep the proper takeout containers available—you can now even find sustainable options.
14. Offer Staff Meals
The staff meals are one of the greatest perks of working in a restaurant. Have you ever considered that staff meals can help reduce food waste as well? Use leftover ingredients in creative ways to prepare meals for your employees. So, there’s no need to worry about people being hungry at work. This is a win-win situation!
15. Donate Leftovers for Charity
Even if you follow all the tips for restaurant waste management we have covered, you may still find you have excess food. You’ve prepared meals for your employees and ensured food safety. Now, find a local charity that will accept the donated items.
You can make your donation official by establishing a partnership with a charity like Second Harvest, which will regularly distribute the food you have to those who are in need. Sustainable America’s Food Rescue Locator makes it easy to connect with local food redistribution organizations. All you need to do is enter the ZIP code.
16. Composting food waste whenever possible is a great way to reduce food waste.
Ask local suppliers if they would like to compost. This is a great way to reduce food waste in your restaurant. If you’ve got enough space and if your local health authority allows it, you can compost on-site.
