3 tips to achieve food recovery

Andrew Shakman, co-founder and CEO of Portland, Ore.-based LeanPath, looks at trash differently than most people. What others see as waste, he sees as ideas.

“A lot of wasted food items are not expensive proteins but starches, veggies, breads, pastries and soups—it’s sneaky waste,” says Shakman, whose company develops and sells software to assist foodservice operators in tracking and reducing waste. “People underestimate what it’s costing them.” 

Observing foodservice programs over the years has enabled Shakman to develop some solid intel on the foodservice waste stream. It’s also one of the reasons LeanPath was recognized by the EPA in the 2014 Food Recovery Challenge for its role as an endorser of food recovery.

For example, in non-commercial foodservice settings, only 4 to 10 percent of waste is pre-consumer, typically kitchen waste such as fruit and vegetable peels and fat trimmings from meat.

While that may seem like a small amount, in Shakman’s eyes, is big money.

“We have identified this area alone as a $20-billion opportunity,” he says. “It’s waste that’s actionable.”

In addition to food trimmings, two other elements drive food waste: overproduction and spoilage.

“Everyone struggles with overproduction,” says Shakman. “It’s an industry-wide challenge. We’ve noticed a pervasive trend where a foodservice director might plan to prepare 90 portions of fish, but later decides to make 100 [portions] due to the fear of running low.”

Related:Resourceful recovery

The key to prevention, he says, is cooking-to-order or small-batch production. “The more you [cook in large batches] the more you will struggle,” Shakman says.

Shakman offered three suggestions to help operators reduce food waste.

1. Acknowledge the problem

"People think they might get in trouble due to food waste, but create positive energy in how people can prevent it,” Shakman says. “Chefs are trained to think that waste is a bad thing, but every operation has waste.”

2. Measure and communicate

Measure today what food might be scheduled for tomorrow. Look at what you waste, why and when. “Make the changes so next time out of the gate you minimize the problems and create a metric to get it on the ‘scoreboard,”’ he says. “Some reduction can be executed without a ton of analysis, so collect data but keep people in the loop using communication.”

3. Take a team approach

“Don’t task one or just a few people with the effort,” he says. “Everyone has to be involved and establish a goal—from soup to vegetables to pizza.”