Compass Group has declared 27 April to be Stop Food Waste Day, an international day dedicated to fighting food waste.
The global foodservice operator will encourage chefs worldwide to lead live cooking demonstrations in order to spread awareness of the day, which is a part of its 2020 goal to reduce food waste by 25%. Compass Group has reported an 11% decrease in food waste.
A Compass Group spokesperson said: “The live demonstrations are being held in our cafes across the world to provoke interest in the topic and to spark inspiration and dialogue with our guests and clients. Our professional chefs are experts at waste reduction which comes as a result of our in-house training, the nature of their work, their commercial focus and most importantly a passion for respecting all produce.
Given Compass Group operates in more than 50 countries worldwide and serves roughly 5.5 billion meals across 55,000 sites each year, it is serious about tackling the problem of food waste. However, much of what ends up in a landfill is generated by the consumer at home, often down to lack of knowledge about food expiration dates and how to make best use of produce.
“During the demonstrations, our chefs will provide waste-reduction tips and will demonstrate ‘root to tip’ and ‘nose to tail’ recipes that minimise waste, promote lesser known cuts of meat and which can be easily replicated at home.”
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By GlobalDataAccording to the foodservice group, around 40% of food produced in the US does not get eaten. Compass Group chefs have saved four million pounds of ‘aesthetically imperfect’ food to date and use online tools to track waste, create menus to maximise the use of ingredients and provide resources to help consumers reduce waste in their own homes.
Compass Group has partnered with ReFED, Eatable, Save the Food and Food Tank in order to push its food waste reduction movement. The company has also teamed up with celebrity chef Tom Colicchio.
More than 250,000 pounds of food is donated annually to local food banks from the cafes of Compass Group’s companies in the US. The group’s top 30 countries have made commitments to start food waste reduction programmes.
Compass Group COO Rick Post said: “As leaders, it is critical to influence positive change and offer meaningful solutions. But we can’t do it alone. Throughout the year, we are partnering with innovative people, organisations, and our clients by sharing progressive strategies and best practices to deliver results and make a significant impact.”
Earlier this year, Compass Group assisted ReFED in launching Foodservice and Restaurant Food Waste Action Guides, including key findings and solutions, to reduce 16 million tons of food waste in the restaurant industry.
The spokesperson added: “Stop Food Waste Day is creating awareness from within our kitchens to the communities in which we serve. Through the implementation of food waste tracking programmes and methods throughout our top 30 countries, and by taking our Stop Food Waste Day activities global, we are hopeful that we will be able to report accelerated progress towards our longer-term group goal to deliver 50% less food waste by the year 2030.”
