In this blog, we’re going to focus on food waste as it relates to food-service organizations and consumption, why your food-service organization should start investing in ways to reduce it, and how Topanga can now help you do that.
Introduction
Food waste, or food loss, is food that is not eaten for varying reasons, commonly including overproduction, cook errors, excess trimmings, or spoilage. It’s becoming a major problem globally and is hitting commercial kitchens the hardest. Food waste happens throughout our food systems––from production, processing and distribution, to retail, food service, and consumption. In this blog, we’re going to focus on food waste as it relates to food-service organizations and consumption and why your food-service organization should start investing in ways to reduce it.
First, why does Topanga care about food waste?
At Topanga, it’s our mission to help food-service organizations create real environmental and economic impact by reducing food and packaging waste. Our ReusePass reusables program helps campuses eliminate single-use packaging and drastically cut disposable costs. And now, with our newly launched StreamLine food-waste management solution, we’re helping culinary teams make an even bigger positive impact on the environment by moving the impact further upstream within kitchen operations. We’ll dive into what StreamLine can do for your food-service organization, but first, let’s cover all things food waste.
How much food waste is there really?
In the United States, it’s estimated that 19 percent of total food purchased is lost to waste, which corresponds to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food.¹ This food waste from our food systems contributes to an estimated 10% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Commercial kitchens are hit the hardest as 40 percent of that food waste is from food-service and retail sectors.²
What leads to excessive food waste in food-service organizations?
Topanga works with 60+ food-service organizations and we hear first-hand from operators about all of the food waste that goes out the door every day. There are many factors that contribute to excessive food waste but the most common that we’ve heard are the following:
Too much food is purchased leading to ingredients remaining unused and turning rancid.
Too much food is prepared, meaning your food supply is significantly higher than what your diners demand.
Your menu items are not what diners are interested in.
How is food waste negatively affecting my kitchen operations?
Because culinary programs' primary levers for improving their bottom line is by raising menu prices and/or lowering overhead costs, it’s important to track your margins by closely managing your prime costs, which is the combination of your cost of goods sold (COGS) and your labor costs.³
Food purchases fall under your cost of goods sold (COGS), alongside beverages, packaging, other costs like water and utilities that are associated with preparing and serving your menu items, and more. Therefore, if you’re seeing excessive food waste in your organization, you’re literally watching your money go out the door and straight into a landfill. And, at the same time, you have a major opportunity to improve your margins and cut prime costs.
The easiest way to lower your prime costs can be through lowering unnecessary food costs. One major way to do that is through smarter food waste mitigation and insights, allowing you to learn from past data and create better purchasing decisions in the future.
How can I reduce food waste in my kitchen operations?
To start reducing food waste, you have to first understand 1) how much food you’re wasting to begin with and then 2) how you can make better food purchasing decisions. This is where Topanga comes in!
We recently launched our newest food-waste management solution: StreamLine.
StreamLine is a smart scale with a one-tap interface and AI item recognition that enables frictionless food-waste management in your kitchen operations. With StreamLine, you can simplify your kitchen’s food-waste mitigation with our smart technology that delivers high-quality data to drive meaningful triple-bottom-line results.
Implementing AI-powered tech like StreamLine to lead your food-waste management efforts allows you to…
Easily measure food waste between meal shifts.
Support the automation of your post-production workflows.
Track what exactly is being thrown out with reliable data.
Leverage insights to aid in better, data-driven decision making when it comes to food purchasing strategies, menu creation that actually meets diners’ needs, and serving.
Curious about what the data-driven insights are actually like? StreamLine specifically provides four areas of waste insights which we cover below with a few examples.
Type of Food-Waste Insight | Example |
1. Absolute Waste | 1 pound of french fries |
2. Relative Change in Waste | 20% less french fries in June versus May |
3. Contextual Waste | More likely to waste tacos when you service french fries |
4. Replacement/Substitution Waste | Tater tots created $20 less waste per week when served as the grill lunch side versus french fry waste per week when served as the grill lunch side |
By leveraging menu-management integrations, Topanga's expertise in food service, and our advanced AI models, we're able to automate the entire process so your team doesn't have to navigate across software platforms, spreadsheets, or clipboards to understand. Food-waste management made easy!
As you can tell, we’re passionate about creating technology that helps kitchens waste less and save more. If you’re ready to start reducing food waste and making data-driven decisions that drive efficiency and sustainability in your daily kitchen operations, reach out to us at sales@topanga.io.
Additionally, our StreamLine beta program is officially live as of July 2024 and we're proud to already be partnering with leading culinary programs at The Ohio State University, Vanderbilt University, and Appalachian State University.
To learn more about StreamLine for your kitchen operations and/or to join the Spring '25 launch waitlist, email us at sales@topanga.io.
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Great to see companies like Topanga taking steps to reduce food waste! In a similar vein, I recently tried argentinian short ribs, and the experience was fantastic. It really made me more mindful of the food I buy and use, making every meal count. Love the focus on sustainability!