Preventing Food Waste (1)

Food service businesses can take simple but effective steps to reduce food waste and improve the bottom line.



Food service businesses can take simple but effective steps to reduce food waste and improve the bottom line.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s “Wasted Food Wasted Money” campaign provides resources and information that can help food service businesses take meaningful steps to reduce their food waste and save money.

Hotel Kitchen also provides a toolkit to help employees of food service businesses reduce waste at various stages in the preparation and serving of food.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also provides tools to help businesses prevent and divert wasted food. These tools include guides for assessing and analyzing where food waste occurs, calculators for measuring the cost competitiveness of alternatives to food waste disposal, training webinars and other resources.

Composting Food

Help keep food scraps out of garbage, protect the environment, and put food scraps to better use creating compost and energy.

Compost

While there is much that can be done to prevent food waste through careful planning, purchasing, and preparation, there are always food scraps that cannot be prevented but have better uses than being tossed into the garbage.

Each year Lane County throws away 91 million pounds of food waste. Eugene and Springfield businesses can do their part to make sure food scraps get composted. Visit, Love Food Not Waste for more information.

Love Food Not Waste
NOTICE: Read nine reasons why Oregon-based composting facilities Do NOT want "compostable" packaging and serviceware in food waste. Learn how these materials are compromising the health of compost and reducing the environmental benefits of creating nutrient-rich, quality product.

Donating Food

Join the many area grocers, restaurants, caterers and food service companies that are helping people who experience hunger.

Food For Lane County

While steps can be taken to plan and prepare food carefully, sometimes leftovers and unused ingredients are inevitable. Food banks, pantries and meal sites can take some donations.

To donate food to Food for Lane County, email here.


Food Waste Prevention

Food Waste Stops with Me

We’re here to help!

We provide hands-on assistance and learn about your business so we can get you just the information you need. Give us a call at 541-682-6536, send us an email.

Prevent food waste

Hear from your peers: Read how eight different restaurants, bakeries and breweries have found ways to minimize food waste through tracking, transforming trim into new ingredients, and educating customers.