Kara
West in Environmental Health News
The numbers are big. $218 billion of food is wasted every year in the United States—1.3 percent of national GDP, or $1,500 a year for a family of four. In a country with 48 million food-insecure people, this represents 1,250 calories per person, every day.
For
restaurants and chefs, reducing food waste is becoming business as usual. Not
only does it help the bottom line – a potential savings of $1.6 billion a year
in an industry with tight margins—it saves resources all
along the food supply chain.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle for
restaurants
The
"three Rs" mantra of enviros everywhere (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) is
equally applicable to restaurants and other commercial and institutional food
services, according to Dana Gunders of the National Resources Defense Council.
Gunders breaks it down like this: Plan smart and don't have extra food to begin
with, feed surplus to people if possible, animals second and then look at
composting as a last resort.
Restaurants that switch to smaller containers for leftovers find more food goes home. After all, who wants to lug a big box to save a little bit of food?
She
also points out that not all food waste is created equal. More resources go
into producing animal products. Not wasting meat goes a long way in saving
resources overall. Gunders compares throwing away a hamburger to taking a
90-minute hot shower, whereas throwing away an egg is like taking an 11-minute
shower.
Gunders
and others spoke Wednesday during a Chef Power Hour,
a monthly conference call that gathers food experts, journalists and chefs from
around the country to discuss issues buffeting the food system.
Chef
Steven Satterfield of Miller Union
Restaurant in Atlanta gets even more specific, advising chefs
to purchase only what they can serve in a day or two.
Tracking sales trends and
waste closely, engaging staff in the waste reduction conversation and accessing
large-scale composting services when possible also are key.
In addition, he
makes it a practice to source ingredients locally whenever possible and to
purchase seconds from farmers for dishes where the produce's shape or color is
not integral to the quality of the dish (think gazpacho).
Donating
surplus food is not often an option for well-run restaurants, says Satterfield,
because the volume is usually not enough for a feeding program. Restaurants
could, however, feed their own employees before and after shift, as he does at
Miller Union twice a day.
Don't forget the egg. Everything, especially leftovers, tastes better with a fried egg on top.
One
surprisingly effective solution to reducing waste? Shrink the size of the
takeout container. Restaurants that switch to smaller containers for leftovers
find more food goes home, Gunders said.
Apparently customers feel more
comfortable taking a half a pork chop or that side salad home in a tiny
package. After all, who wants to lug a big box around to save a little bit of
food?
Lastly,
Satterfield recommends reducing portion size on dishes that routinely come back
from the table with leftovers. Restaurants can even lower the price on reduced
portions and perhaps sell more overall.
Put an egg on it
Reducing
food waste is great and all, but what about the actual food? Culinary
creativity, after all, is what chefs aspire to and one reason we go to
restaurants. Satterfield encourages chefs to embrace creativity to use every
possible part of an ingredient.
Garlic
and onion peels, even corncobs, can be used for stock. Carrot tops can enhance
pesto and herbal sauces. Overripe berries become jams and jellies. At Miller
Union, fried carrot peels are a favorite garnish.
Specials
created from diverted waste could be a chef's next culinary triumph.
Satterfield created a popular $13 appetizer at his restaurant by soaking
day-old bread strips in juiced kale stems and topping with apple jelly made
from cores and peels and a chicken liver mousse. The mousse was inspired by a
delivery of whole chickens that came with a bonus – livers still intact.
Or,
Satterfield says, chefs can simply blanch and freeze excess produce for future
use. And don't forget the egg. Everything, especially leftovers, tastes better
with a fried egg on top.
The policy picture
Katherine
Miller of the James Beard Foundation says chefs participating in their
education programs are very receptive to making changes in their restaurants to
reduce food waste. Still, there are barriers at the larger community and policy
levels.
For example, access to a large scale composting facility can be hit or
miss. The Washington, D.C. area is home to 2,500 restaurants but has no
composting business serving the food industry.
Betsy
Barrett of Food Policy Action works to promote legislation before Congress to
overhaul the U.S. food system for safety, health, waste reduction and food
access, among other improvements.
One bill, the Food Recovery Act, includes
Good Samaritan protection for businesses donating food as well as explicit
labeling for "use by" dates that distinguishes between safety and
peak quality dates. Both will keep food out of the landfill and on plates, says
Barrett.
The
Chef Power Hour is hosted by Chefs
Collaborative, a Massachusetts-based program hoping to make
sustainable practices second nature for every chef in the United States.
Realizing that vision, says programs director Alisha Fowler, starts with
raising awareness, educating food professionals and in turn, those professionals
educating their customers. A little support at the policy level doesn't hurt
either.
As
Dana Gunders of NRDC puts it: "If the restaurant is setting a culture and
having a dialogue with their customers about food waste, that's the best way to
realize change."
For
questions or feedback about this piece, contact Brian Bienkowski at bbienkowski@ehn.org.