ReFED releases food waste action guides

ReFED, a multistakeholder nonprofit committed to reducing food waste in the U.S. based in Brooklyn, New York, launched two food waste action guides for the food service and restaurant industries and announced a new partnership with Compass Group, a contract food service and hospitality company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Developed in partnership with the Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA), Washington, the guides are designed to help industry leaders develop and implement food waste reduction strategies.

ReFED works directly with food businesses, foundations, innovators, investors and policymakers to implement food waste solutions. The food service and restaurant food waste action guides were created with input from more than 80 expert contributors, including the four U.S. food service providers: Compass Group; Aramark, Philadelphia; Sodex, Gaithersburg, Maryland; and Delaware North, Buffalo, New York, and a host of restaurants across the country.

The action guides builds on ReFED’s 2016 report, A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent.

ReFED says the U.S. wastes 63 million tons, or $218 billion, of food annually. Reducing food waste increases food security, spurs economic growth and creates local jobs. There is a 16-million-ton opportunity to reduce food waste and to recover the equivalent of 1.5 billion meals per year within the food service and restaurant sectors, according to the organization.

The guides provide best practices and strategies and present a set of proven prevention, recovery and recycling solutions to help the industry prioritize and accelerate waste reduction activities. The foodservice industry, as defined by the guide, consists of businesses that provide food for client organizations, including those in healthcare, corporate and educational settings.

Key findings from the guides include:

• prevention solutions are the most cost-effective and could reduce annual food waste by 600,000 tons;
• implementing waste tracking and analytics can reduce preconsumer waste generated by contract foodservice providers by up to 50 percent; and
• providing guests with varying portion choices or options and tayless dining can reduce postconsumer waste by as much as 30 percent.

“Food waste reduction is quickly becoming a key element of financial and reputational value for restaurants and foodservice providers,” Chris Cochran, executive director of ReFED, says. “ReFED is now partnering with leading restaurants and foodservice providers to put food waste solutions into action.”

Compass Group is launching a partnership with ReFED to conduct food waste pilots at several Compass Group client sites over the coming year.

“Our strategic alignment with ReFED allows Compass Group to help pioneer these industry steering guides as well as pilot these new and innovative programs to drive waste reduction with our clients,” Amy Keister, vice president of sustainability and consumer engagement at Compass Group, says. “With ReFED as our partner, Compass Group is one step closer to achieving our commitment to reduce food waste by 25 percent by 2020.”

ReFED and Sodexo are continuing their collaboration, which began with work on the roadmap.

“At Sodexo, we are committed to championing sustainable resource usage through our Better Tomorrow 2025 corporate responsibility strategy and partnering with ReFED allows us to share insights, identify opportunities to innovate and drive industry-wide change,” Nell Fry, senior manager of sustainability and corporate responsibility at Sodexo North America, says. “Building on the impact of our work with ReFED around the launch of the Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste, this action guide will help us prioritize our actions as we work to eliminate food waste in all our operations. We are proud to have contributed to a document that will help all food service companies address food loss in their facilities.”