Testimonials
Christina Covello,
Head of Strategic Growth
Fooditude Has Struck Up A Number Of New Partnerships That Have Helped It To Go Green In 2019.
Research by WRAP, and estimates compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, state that approximately a third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted. This is a staggering statistic. It’s not only bad for the environment, but organisations need to realise that this also impacts their bottom line. Managing food waste has always been a monumental challenge for contract caterers and it is daunting on several different fronts.
First, contract caterers work with large volumes of food and this leads to a large amount of prep waste. Second, running a delivery service from a remote kitchen means that quantity control is limited once catering numbers have been agreed. Sometimes this leads to over-production, as operators don’t want to risk running out of food and jeopardising their service.
This year, Fooditude (formerly Just Hospitality) has decided to tackle the food waste challenge on three fronts: reducing prep waste, redistribution of cooked food waste and safe disposal of unavoidable food waste. This approach has allowed it to make progress and it has partnered with several organisations to achieve its goals.
On the food waste issue, director of food Matt Byne says: “As a chef, I take issue with food waste on so many levels – it’s a waste of a carefully grown ingredient, a waste of a chef’s effort and time, and such a monumental waste of money. We had to make food waste reduction a priority and had to find some creative solutions.”
Changing Kitchen Habits
Fooditude worked with Foodcycle to learn more about the problem of food waste and raise awareness about the issue among its employees and clients. It runs community projects across the country, serving tasty hot meals made with surplus produce donated by supermarkets for people in need of a hot meal and friendship.
An important lesson from its association with Foodcycle is that the key to reducing waste is education and behaviour change. It has now taken part in three of FoodCycle’s Food Invention Challenges where a group of staff and/or clients cook meals from surplus produce for a local charity. This has not only been a great team activity, but it has also inspired its chefs with creative ideas that translate into its daily changing menus.
There is certainly a positive shift in attitudes towards working with surplus produce and a renewed focus on finding ways of reducing waste in existing production cycles. For example, it has just started using broccoli trimmings in soups instead of binning them. This may seem like a miniscule example, but it makes a difference when prep waste from broccoli on a menu for 1,500 people is repurposed instead of being binned. An important lesson from its association with Foodcycle is that the key to reducing waste is education and behaviour change. It has now taken part in three of FoodCycle’s Food Invention Challenges where a group of staff and/or clients cook meals from surplus produce for a local charity. This has not only been a great team activity, but it has also inspired its chefs with creative ideas that translate into its daily changing menus.
Safe Disposal Solution
Cooked food and prep waste has been traditionally sent to landfill, incinerated or turned into fuel via anaerobic digestion. Fooditude is the first contract caterer in London to think differently and install an ORCA (no it’s not a real whale!) by iugis in its new production kitchen.
An ORCA is a 100% recycling solution to disposing of unavoidable food waste. The technology simply mimics a natural digestion process and food waste is converted into an environmentally safe liquid that is disposed of using the existing waste water infrastructure. This process diverts food waste from landfill and eliminates transportation which through the iugis portal can be quantified by the reduction of the harmful emissions produced with heavy vehicles on the road. Both these are in line with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs targets for zero food waste to landfill by 2030 and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Since their partnership with Fooditude started they have worked together to understand and reduce food waste. iugis and Fooditude strive to promote the principles of the waste hierarchy (reduce, reuse and recycle) and the ORCA technology allows them to view accurate real time food waste data, so together they can identify any potential areas for improvement.
On this relationship, Matt Golding from iugis says: “The engagement and feedback from the team at all levels has been great and we are seeing positive changes happening. These include adapting the menu to gain a better yield from broccoli, stalks and all; an overall change in attitudes towards food waste; and, as previously mentioned, partnering with companies such as Olio to redistribute edible food that would have otherwise ended up in the ORCA. We see our partnership thriving and being a part of achieving a net reduction in food waste and greenhouse gas emissions.”
Fooditude has been trying to figure out how to tackle the food waste issue in the business for a long time and in the past six months has gained some real momentum and positive changes. There is still a long way to go. A recent food waste audit in the production kitchen and at client units has helped identify several areas for improvement, starting with a review of best practices in the kitchen and getting portion sizes right. Involvement with FoodCycle, Waste Knot, OLIO and ORCA has been a great motivator for staff and will help the team stay positive during the long journey ahead.
We are a diverse and passionate team devoted to empowering change and creating LESS FOOD WASTE. Join us on our journey and find out how you can save time, money and the environment with ORCA.
Interested in staying up to date with ORCA and all food waste-related news? Subscribe in the box above!
