Great article! We see this everyday in our business. It is truly staggering the amount of waste produced in any type of foodservice establishment, not just 'all you can eat' places.
In general, 4-10% of the raw product purchase for a foodservice operation is PRE-consumer waste. (That's before it even gets to a guest!!!) In dollars - that about $40,000-$100,000 in food waste for every $1 million spent on food. (an average size hospital spends about $1m every year.)
If you would like to see a few reports with waste measured in pounds (weight) and dollars, visit our website: www.leanpath.com
Thanks Carrie, Kris, and Tracey for weighing in - you're such smart and thoughtful people, we're lucky to have your points-of-view here.
Your points about what we buy and eat at home, in restaurants (we can also discuss the enormous portion size we've been conditioned to expect), and at grocery stores are terrific. We don't need to be at an all-inclusive resort to waste food, or to think about the true value of what we've got in front of us.
We've come to think of an abundance of EVERYTHING as the true representation of achieving the American Dream, but it's encouraging that so many people are having second thoughts!
It was bred into me by my mother to always clear my plate (though I still need to get better at not overfilling my plate in the first place). I can still hear her words echoing as I would stare at whatever it was that I didn't want to eat: "you'll follow the crows for it yet". I may not have liked it at the time, but I did develop a real respect for food and a horror of the level of waste you describe.
Having been to many an all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, I agree that the amount of waste is incredible! That being said, I think, although don't go to, any buffet restaurant suffers from the same. In my opinion it all boils down to valuing food and the impact of "cheap" food. Whether an all-you-can-eat buffet down the street or an all-inclusive resort in Mexico people tend to want to get the most for their money, resulting in at least taking more than they know they should. Often the quality of the food served at those places is low. It's cheap and unsatisfying so we either eat more than we should in an effort to be satisfied or waste it when we find it unappealing.
I recently had this experience (my personal solution was to try and clean my plate until I was painfully gorged). But I realize that this occurs in my own home, too! As Carrie observes above, we are conditioned by 'sell by', 'best by', etc. labels; how much food have I tossed because of the expiration date, only to turn around and buy its replacement so that I can start the cycle again.
I'm trying to be more mindful of how much food is in my pantry and refrigerator, and try to use them up before I buy more.
Great observation. This must happen every day at all you can eat restaurants. Overstocked supermarket shelves (especially fresh food such as meat or fruit) must also contribute significantly to food waste. The question is, how do we learn to accept out of stock items?
Here's how I did my math:
1,234,000 + 466,000 = 1,700,000
1,700,000 / 1128 = 1507
1507 / 12 = 125.59, which I took the license of rounding down to 125 to make the numbers easier to grok.
Open Arms is spending 27% of their money on admin and fundraising, which falls well within the guidelines suggested by both the Better Business Bureau and the Charities Review Council.
If my math is correct (($1,234,000 / 1128)/12), they are spending $911 per month per person, not $125.
They are also spending almost 30% of their money on admin and fundraising, which seems high.
I'm not saying they are not doing good work, but please be accurate about the costs.
Anonymous -- That's why I included #10 and 11 in the list of things to do. Because you're right, this has to start with how we spend our money. So keep on keeping on buying that local, organic food. Amen.
Great article! We see this
Great article! We see this everyday in our business. It is truly staggering the amount of waste produced in any type of foodservice establishment, not just 'all you can eat' places.
In general, 4-10% of the raw product purchase for a foodservice operation is PRE-consumer waste. (That's before it even gets to a guest!!!) In dollars - that about $40,000-$100,000 in food waste for every $1 million spent on food. (an average size hospital spends about $1m every year.)
If you would like to see a few reports with waste measured in pounds (weight) and dollars, visit our website: www.leanpath.com
Thanks Carrie, Kris, and
Thanks Carrie, Kris, and Tracey for weighing in - you're such smart and thoughtful people, we're lucky to have your points-of-view here.
Your points about what we buy and eat at home, in restaurants (we can also discuss the enormous portion size we've been conditioned to expect), and at grocery stores are terrific. We don't need to be at an all-inclusive resort to waste food, or to think about the true value of what we've got in front of us.
We've come to think of an abundance of EVERYTHING as the true representation of achieving the American Dream, but it's encouraging that so many people are having second thoughts!
It was bred into me by my
It was bred into me by my mother to always clear my plate (though I still need to get better at not overfilling my plate in the first place). I can still hear her words echoing as I would stare at whatever it was that I didn't want to eat: "you'll follow the crows for it yet". I may not have liked it at the time, but I did develop a real respect for food and a horror of the level of waste you describe.
Having been to many an
Having been to many an all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, I agree that the amount of waste is incredible! That being said, I think, although don't go to, any buffet restaurant suffers from the same. In my opinion it all boils down to valuing food and the impact of "cheap" food. Whether an all-you-can-eat buffet down the street or an all-inclusive resort in Mexico people tend to want to get the most for their money, resulting in at least taking more than they know they should. Often the quality of the food served at those places is low. It's cheap and unsatisfying so we either eat more than we should in an effort to be satisfied or waste it when we find it unappealing.
I recently had this
I recently had this experience (my personal solution was to try and clean my plate until I was painfully gorged). But I realize that this occurs in my own home, too! As Carrie observes above, we are conditioned by 'sell by', 'best by', etc. labels; how much food have I tossed because of the expiration date, only to turn around and buy its replacement so that I can start the cycle again.
I'm trying to be more mindful of how much food is in my pantry and refrigerator, and try to use them up before I buy more.
Great observation. This must
Great observation. This must happen every day at all you can eat restaurants. Overstocked supermarket shelves (especially fresh food such as meat or fruit) must also contribute significantly to food waste. The question is, how do we learn to accept out of stock items?
Hi, Anonymous - Your math
Hi, Anonymous -
Your math is, in fact, not correct.
Here's how I did my math:
1,234,000 + 466,000 = 1,700,000
1,700,000 / 1128 = 1507
1507 / 12 = 125.59, which I took the license of rounding down to 125 to make the numbers easier to grok.
Open Arms is spending 27% of their money on admin and fundraising, which falls well within the guidelines suggested by both the Better Business Bureau and the Charities Review Council.
http://www.bbb.org/us/Charity-Standards/
http://www.smartgivers.org/Financial-Activity.html
Check out Open Arms's annual reports here and see for yourself:
http://www.openarmsmn.org/annualreports
If my math is correct
If my math is correct (($1,234,000 / 1128)/12), they are spending $911 per month per person, not $125.
They are also spending almost 30% of their money on admin and fundraising, which seems high.
I'm not saying they are not doing good work, but please be accurate about the costs.
Anonymous -- That's why I
Anonymous -- That's why I included #10 and 11 in the list of things to do. Because you're right, this has to start with how we spend our money. So keep on keeping on buying that local, organic food. Amen.
thanks shari (welcome back!).
thanks shari (welcome back!). we missed you.