AUSTRALIA | End Food Waste Australia has unveiled an action plan to help slash food waste and costs for cafes and caterers.
Cafes and caterers feeling the cost-of-living crunch will have access to real-world solutions to reduce food waste and save their bottom line, with the launch of the End Food Waste Australia Cafés and Catering Sector Action Plans (SAPs).
This initiative is designed to help Australia’s hospitality sector understand the impact of food waste on their profits and the planet, helping them thrive in a challenging economy and set them up for success as the holiday season hits.
From paddock to plate, End Food Waste Australia works to reduce food waste across the entire food chain, including in Australia’s vibrant hospitality industry. In the hospitality sector, an average café generates a volume of food waste equivalent to 70,000 cups of coffee per employee each year, while in catering, 20 percent of the food served is never eaten.
Australia’s hospitality sector wastes the equivalent of 4.6 million meals every day, that’s over 1.2 million tonnes of food waste every year or 16 percent of Australia’s food waste, enough food to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to the brim 1.5 times.
With the cost of ingredients rising, and margins in hospitality becoming increasingly slim, End Food Waste Australia’s Sector Action Plans allow businesses to consider how food waste reduction can become a routine part of modern foodservice culture.
“The launch of these strategic action plans is timely as cafés and catering businesses navigate the complexities of a cost-of-living crisis, along with severe staffing shortages,” said Sarah Hughes, former chef and Sector Action Plan Project Coordinator at End Food Waste Australia.
“Our aim is to provide these businesses with the tools they need to not only tackle food waste, and increase their sustainability, but also to thrive economically during these challenging times,” Hughes added.
End Food Waste Australia’s research-led and industry tailored plans offer practical solutions, from creating smaller seasonal menus with optional sides, through to measuring plate waste.
Laura Boulton, a head chef at the Mulberry Group and former chef at Melbourne Cafe Cassette, has long advocated for food waste reduction in the cafe sector.
Both Cassette and the Mulberry Group contributed valuable industry knowledge to the Café Sector Action Plan.
“We need to reframe what we consider waste. It’s an untapped resource, a gateway to profit and flavour town,” Boulton said.
For the sustainability-focused International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), which regularly caters for thousands of event attendees, food waste reduction is important in helping them achieve their social, environmental and economic goals. ICC Sydney contributed valuable insights into the Catering Sector Action Plan.
“At ICC Sydney we continue to strive to reduce our impact on the environment, which includes addressing food waste. Adding to our circular economy approach to our organic waste and our efforts to support smaller, local food and wine producers, we are now trialing new technology to assist us in weighing, measuring and reducing food waste.”
“These efforts have excellent environmental benefits while making good business sense,” Lynell Peck, Director of Culinary Services, ICC Sydney said.
Changes made by the hospitality sector ultimately contribute to Australia’s ambitious target of halving food waste by 2030.
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