To whom it may concern,
I am currently employed at C******* of the S**** working within the dining staff as a server for over a year now.
Throughout my time working here, I have first-hand witnessed restaurant food waste in multiple capacities. A 2014 study found
that 84.3% of unused food in American restaurants ends up being disposed of, while 14.3% is recycled, and only 1.4% is donated.
That translates over to restaurants generating 11.4 million tons of food waste, costing about $25 billion per year. Food waste and
food insecurity are both very real and very large problems in the United States. At our location, every shift we throw away a
plentiful amount of unused foods such as full bins of bread, soups, and complete trays of entrees. Some nights the chefs will even
refuse to serve the leftovers to the staff without a meal ticket and right into the trash it goes in front of us. When I first suggested
donation, I was immediately shut down by the Dining Director due to legality and transportation, “It’s too much of a legal issue
if someone gets sick.” At the time I rescinded but there is actually no available public record of anyone in the United States being
sued because of harms related to donated food. This a very common misconception in the restaurant industry and unfortunately
contributes in a very large scale. The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act was passed in 1996, which protects
restaurants from civil and criminal liability should a recipient get ill or hurt as a result of consumed donated food. (Excluding
intentional and malicious causes.) I do although propose that rather than focusing on food banks for donation due to their high
volume deals, finding local soup kitchens and college pantries would be the most efficient and direct route. In hand with this,
establishing packaging procedures should be the main concern. It’s an investment to the Earth.
Throughout my time working here, I have first-hand witnessed restaurant food waste in multiple capacities. A 2014 study found
that 84.3% of unused food in American restaurants ends up being disposed of, while 14.3% is recycled, and only 1.4% is donated.
That translates over to restaurants generating 11.4 million tons of food waste, costing about $25 billion per year. Food waste and
food insecurity are both very real and very large problems in the United States. At our location, every shift we throw away a
plentiful amount of unused foods such as full bins of bread, soups, and complete trays of entrees. Some nights the chefs will even
refuse to serve the leftovers to the staff without a meal ticket and right into the trash it goes in front of us. When I first suggested
donation, I was immediately shut down by the Dining Director due to legality and transportation, “It’s too much of a legal issue
if someone gets sick.” At the time I rescinded but there is actually no available public record of anyone in the United States being
sued because of harms related to donated food. This a very common misconception in the restaurant industry and unfortunately
contributes in a very large scale. The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act was passed in 1996, which protects
restaurants from civil and criminal liability should a recipient get ill or hurt as a result of consumed donated food. (Excluding
intentional and malicious causes.) I do although propose that rather than focusing on food banks for donation due to their high
volume deals, finding local soup kitchens and college pantries would be the most efficient and direct route. In hand with this,
establishing packaging procedures should be the main concern. It’s an investment to the Earth.
Donation is not the only way to reduce waste, it also has to be addressed and controlled down to the root by food waste
management. I first propose establishing waste audits and reinforcing procedures to go along. The primary goal of a waste
audit is to identify where waste comes from, so we can then find ways to reduce it, thus creates numerical values to generate
a blueprint for action. This can be done by providing the dining staff with logs to track not only what is being thrown out but
also why it’s been thrown out including the amount. By keeping a record, the kitchen will have a deeper
understanding/knowledge because it allows the opportunity to evaluate the inventory and maximize shelf life in storage.
We receive delivery every Tuesday and Thursdays, but often times the kitchen still runs out of an item. Not due to
consumerism, but due to what ends up being wasted. Disposables are also a very large issue at our establishment and I propose
offering incentives to promote eco-friendliness.
management. I first propose establishing waste audits and reinforcing procedures to go along. The primary goal of a waste
audit is to identify where waste comes from, so we can then find ways to reduce it, thus creates numerical values to generate
a blueprint for action. This can be done by providing the dining staff with logs to track not only what is being thrown out but
also why it’s been thrown out including the amount. By keeping a record, the kitchen will have a deeper
understanding/knowledge because it allows the opportunity to evaluate the inventory and maximize shelf life in storage.
We receive delivery every Tuesday and Thursdays, but often times the kitchen still runs out of an item. Not due to
consumerism, but due to what ends up being wasted. Disposables are also a very large issue at our establishment and I propose
offering incentives to promote eco-friendliness.
By initiating a partnership with organizations, donations would not only benefit the company but the community as well.
By self-reflecting and auditing food waste, a lot of money can be saved.
By self-reflecting and auditing food waste, a lot of money can be saved.
Sincerely,
Caro Serrano
Caro you make a a lot of really good points and seem to be very knowledgeable on the way to maximize efficiency and lower the food waste. You might be on to something here!
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