According to a 2020 study by Walden University, food waste in US restaurants costs billions of dollars per year. Despite the growing scarcity of food in the world, restaurant owners found themselves on the top of the pyramid, enabling totally avoidable incidents of untimely food disposal or excessive food spoilage. But how can you contribute to a wiser and more practical approach to managing your food supply so you don’t have to turn a blind eye as your employees close the day with piles and piles of spoiled food? Here are some ways to reduce food waste in your restaurant.

Keep a Stock Inventory

Every restaurant has to keep a stock inventory. This is because you have to be able to track what kind of stock you have at how much quantity at all times. A thorough list, either automated or written, will help you organize your kitchen and food supplies. It’s best to sort your food according to expiration dates and storing classifications so you can monitor what should be consumed first. Having a clear stock inventory will result in a good chain reaction that would cause the following:

• Avoiding overstocking. If you keep track of your stock, you would have a solid idea of just how much your business consumes daily, how much of it goes to waste, and what you can do about it. This prevents you from excessively buying a stock that would just be left to spoil in the refrigerator.
• Measuring your food waste daily. Keeping track of your stock and having a food waste inventory detailing your business’ food spoilage data can help you gather the necessary information that would then allow you to avoid the same incident next time. If you notice that your customers tend to leave a certain meal or side dish more often than others, it’s time to reconsider different strategies for the meal, such as conducting surveys to know how your customers feel, cutting on portions, etc.

Implement Stock Rotation

In food storage, it’s best to apply the ‘FIFO’ rule (First In, First Out). This ensures that the first stock to come into your restaurant is the one to get purchased. For example, feature your food that was cooked earlier before the others, in case of cooking for a day’s supply. You can also apply discounts and promos to your food that are still in great condition and you are predicting not to be sold before the day’s end.

Practice Correct Food Storage

Storing food is tricky and dependent on its ingredients or its sensitivity to different temperatures and environments (for raw ingredients such as vegetables, fruits, and meat). Make sure that you have an understanding of how to store both your cooked food and ingredients to maintain their best quality. This way, you can preserve them longer and prevent bacterial growth that may cause food spoilage.

Another important aspect of food storage is temperature control. You should always monitor the temperature of your refrigerators as against the food you’re storing. You should also make sure you are storing high-risk food in freezers and letting hot food cool down before storing them.

It is also preferred if you think of investing in a generator that would prevent food spoilage during a power outage. The FDA says that in case you weren’t able to attend to your stock during an outage, you should definitely throw away food that has been in 40 degrees Fahrenheit temperature for more than two hours.

Label Food Correctly

Food labels are more important than you initially think. Every stock is stored and taken care of differently, and labels help your staff be more in sync with regards to the status of food and how to store it properly. Product description, as well as manufacturing and expiration dates, are important labels as well as noteworthy information about the proper handling of any food.

With food labels, you can track your stocks more easily and prevent them from getting mixed into an environment that would promote spoilage. Using labels can also help you speed up the process of food rotation by identifying stocks that are nearer to their use-by dates. It is recommended that daily monitoring be imposed in storage rooms or refrigerators to assess the quality of food on a regular basis since food can spoil easily.

Control Food Portion

With a stock inventory in place, you can analyze how much food your restaurant needs to prepare to tend to your customers for a certain period of time. You can also monitor which food is the crowd’s favorite leftovers and from there, evaluate how you can control its portion accordingly. As much as possible, subscribe to the ‘made to order’ approach instead of batch cooking to avoid excessive food supply.

Have a Plan for Excess Food

If you haven’t thought about preventing your restaurant from having excess food yet and end up with a ton of it, it is best to have a plan about what to do so the still perfectly edible food won’t go straight to the trash. There are different appropriate approaches that can help you take care of excess food:

• Find resourceful ways to use excess ingredients. For unused raw ingredients, if they are not yet past their “use by” date, you can find creative and new ways to use them and therefore spruce up your tomorrow’s menu by cooking exciting Specials.
• Donating leftovers to a charity. Huge companies like Dunkin Donuts released a policy that allows their franchise to give away their leftover food for the day to anyone and everyone who is in need within their vicinity. As long as they are still in good condition, you can donate them to your local charity according to their regulations, or let your customers enjoy them by giving out discounts or promos.
• Composting. If you are able to do so, one of the ideal ways to use your leftovers is by putting your food waste in a compost bin. Fruits, vegetable peelings, bread, and any food except meat, fish, and dairy products can constitute a compost bin.
• Giving leftover dishes to employees. If you can’t find charities near your restaurant that can accept your donations, you can always consider giving your leftovers to your employees who have technically earned it by working hard all day. As long as they are still in good condition, you can ask your employees if they are willing to accept the leftover food.
• Ask customers to take out excessive food. You can give your customers an option to take the rest of the food they can’t finish home by packing it for taking out. This can only apply to meals that can be repackaged.
• Give scraps to local farmers for feed. If you live not a lot of miles away from a pig farm or are acquainted with someone who breeds pigs, you can also consider giving away your food waste to be used as feeds.

Charge Customers for Leftover Food for Buffets

Many restaurants have applied a leftover fee to prevent customers from getting more food than they can consume for buffets and unlimited food promos such as Korean grills and hotpots.

Implement Management Guidelines on Food Waste Reduction

As the manager, you can implement restaurant guidelines to familiarize your employees with the proper handling of food as well as correct storage techniques and hygienic practices in the kitchen. Properly cooked and stored food can be in its best state for a longer time.

You can also sign your employees up for training or onboardings that will make them understand the lingering food waste issues in restaurants and make it a priority to cultivate their mindset towards food conservation.

Setup a Proper and Organized Waste Disposal System

This sounds more complicated than it really is: You just have to segregate your waste. This way, not only can you contribute to the conservation of the environment, but you can also gather unavoidable food wastes that are eligible to be in compost pits or be given to pig farms more conveniently.

Use Smaller Plates and Utensils

Choose plates and utensils that can accommodate smaller portions of food. This way, you can still serve customers their money’s worth of food without leaving them to feel like their meal doesn’t even fill their plate. Just be careful not to under-serve or over-serve your customers.

Starting Your Food Waste Reduction Plan

Everything starts with one good intention. If you’re willing to put in the effort to change the faulty system you and your staff have been used to for years now, you can come a long way in the fight against food waste. Just remember that it is more important to prevent the production of excessive food than actually trying to deal with the food that’s becoming less and less edible in front of your very eyes every second that passes. With lesser food waste, you’re able to profit more from your business and in time, share your effective practices with your neighboring food businesses.

Want to reduce food waste and save money? Read ”6 Tips to Reduce Food Waste and Save Money” to learn more.