The Food Waste Reduction Alliance reports that restaurants throw away about 85% of their unused food. Simple Order, restaurant inventory management software, provided Small Business Trends with ideas for reducing food waste in your small restaurant.
Tips for restaurant food waste
Give the leftovers
Charities are always on the lookout for excess packaged ingredients, entrees and other types of food to feed the homeless. Finding these organizations in your community is often as easy as finding a good one. portal to evaluate them for you.
Check your perishables
Airtight containers should be marked with the arrival date of the fruits and vegetables and when they are no longer acceptable for consumption. The SimpleOrder team suggests that these foods can be dehydrated to make them last longer. If you plan your storage areas so that perishables are more visible, there is less risk of waste.
Change your menu
If you can analyze which menu items generate the most waste, you can reduce their portion sizes or eliminate them altogether.
Buy high-end equipment
Even something as small as a high quality potato peeler can reduce waste and increase profits over time. By spending more now on high quality kitchen equipment, you won’t have to waste money down the road due to escalating food waste and associated costs.
Regular Inventory
Knowing what you have in stock and what is nearly expired is a great way to reduce waste.. Buying good inventory software will help you keep track of what is consumed daily and what items often remain before they are used.
Cut out niche ingredients
Specialty ingredients can sit on the shelf and spoil before they are used. Removing items that use these ingredients from your menu completely will reduce waste. You can also try replacing the ingredients you use with another dish to save money. Reviewing your sales figures should point you in the right direction.
Automate your inventory tracking
Automated tracking systems that work with your inventory reduce over-ordering and proxy waste. The best of them can even help you keep track of your numbers on a daily basis.
Train new recruits to reduce waste
New employees should be made aware of your waste reduction culture as soon as you hire them. Don’t forget to seek their feedback on how you can improve the processes as well.
Save those leftovers
Every small restaurant should have a dedicated waste recording team to help you understand where it occurs and how to reduce it. Everything should be classified according to how you dispose of it: compost, landfill, or recycling. Tracking things this way gives you a very clear picture of what you are selling versus what you are throwing away.
Develop a composting program
Setting up a composting program is one of the fastest ways to reduce your restaurant’s waste. Find out how to separate everything into the right categories and get the right containers for composting what’s biodegradable.
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