Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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"Roughly 30 percent of food in the United States goes to waste, costing some 
$48 billion annually, according to a Stockholm International Water Institute 
study. A 2004 University of Arizona study estimated that 40 to 50 percent of 
food in the United States is wasted. Wholesale food costs have risen more 
than 8 percent this year, the biggest jump in decades, according the National 
Restaurant Association."


Costs of Food Waste Pile Up
Chefs, Grocers Track Trash to Save Cash
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/27/AR2008112702155.html

By Christopher Leonard
Associated Press
Friday, November 28, 2008; Page E10

Experts in the food industry are thinking a lot about trash these days.

Food waste has been a chronic problem for restaurants and grocery stores -- 
with millions of tons lost along the way as crops are hauled hundreds of 
miles, stored for weeks in refrigerators and prepared on hectic restaurant 
assembly lines. But the historically high price of commodities is making it 
an even bigger drag on the bottom line.

Restaurants, colleges, hospitals and other institutions are compensating for 
the rising costs of waste in novel ways. Some are tracking their trash with 
software systems, making food in smaller batches or trying to compost and cut 
down on trash-hauling costs.

"We have all come to work with this big elephant in the middle of the 
kitchen, and the elephant is this 'It's okay to waste' belief system," said 
Andrew Shackman, president of LeanPath, a company that helps restaurants cut 
back food waste.

The interest level in cutting food waste "has just skyrocketed in the last 
six to nine months," he said.

Roughly 30 percent of food in the United States goes to waste, costing some 
$48 billion annually, according to a Stockholm International Water Institute 
study. A 2004 University of Arizona study estimated that 40 to 50 percent of 
food in the United States is wasted.

Wholesale food costs have risen more than 8 percent this year, the biggest 
jump in decades, according the National Restaurant Association.

Freshman students at Virginia Tech were surprised this year when they entered 
two of the campus's biggest dining halls to find there were no cafeteria 
trays.

"You have to go back and get your silverware and your drink, but it's not 
that different," said Caitlin Mewborn, a freshman. "It's not a big hassle. 
You take less food, and you don't eat more than you should."

Getting rid of trays has cut food waste by 38 percent at the cafeterias, said 
Denny Cochrane, manager of Virginia Tech's sustainability program. Before the 
program began, students often grabbed whatever looked good at the buffet, 
only to find at the table that their eyes were bigger than their stomachs, he 
said.

That same phenomenon often happens at Oregon's Portland International 
Airport. Busy travelers often discard half-eaten meals into trash cans, 
adding dozens of tons of waste that the airport must pay the city to haul 
away.

Now the airport is ramping up a three-year-old program to install food-only 
trash cans. The food waste is collected in biodegradable bags and given to 
the city to use as compost, said Stan Jones, aviation environmental 
compliance manager at the airport.

Besides being environmentally friendly, the changes may save the airport 
money. It costs about $82 to have one ton of trash hauled from the airport to 
the city landfill. But food waste costs about $48 a ton to haul. Last year, 
the airport was able to divert 165 tons of food out of the trash stream, 
which would add up to $5,600 in hauling fees alone. That's an increase from 
the year before, when about 157 tons were composted.

But biodegradable bags "cost a fortune," Jones said. Ultimately, it's more 
expensive to compost the food than throw it away. But the airport is 
continuing the program with an eye on the future.

Cutting back on the waste can require spending money on software and training.

LeanPath, based in Portland, Ore., sells a software system to track food 
being tossed out. More than 75 institutions including hospitals, restaurants 
and hotels use the system, which costs about $600 a month, to track waste in 
high-volume kitchens. Employees put food waste on a scale and use a 
touch-screen computer to record what type of food it is. The system 
calculates the cost, and tracks what is being pitched.

Steve Peterson, head chef at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas, said he was 
surprised when he installed the LeanPath system and saw the value of food 
that was going out the back door. Much of the waste came from sauces, 
dressings and trimmings that weren't eaten.

To cut costs, Peterson decided to reduce serving sizes. He said customers 
weren't bothered by the switch, which has helped him trim food waste by 
between 15 to 20 percent over 18 months.

"The reality is the consumer is more value and cost conscious," he said, "so 
they're not necessarily looking for more food. They're looking for food at a 
better value."