5 Ways to Reduce Food Waste in Your Restaurant

In today's world where consumption is rapidly increasing, millions of food items are wasted every year. According to a study by the United Nations Environment Programme, over seven million tons of food are thrown away just in Turkey every year. There are several ways to prevent this waste, which is particularly common in restaurants. So, what are these ways?

What Are the Benefits of Reducing Food Waste?

While fighting famine in many parts of the world, food waste occurs in many other areas. At this point, you can make positive progress both financially and in terms of brand reputation by reducing food waste in your business. Even just removing uneaten foods from the menu will provide you with significant financial savings. This way, you can use the budget allocated for these foods in more necessary areas. Moreover, this step shows customers and competitors how environmentally conscious your restaurant is. This will help spread your brand name while also gaining new customers.

How Can You Reduce Food Waste in Your Restaurant?

There are certain key points for food management in your restaurant for a sustainable environment. These can be listed as follows:

1) Track Your Inventory

Stocking more food than necessary can cause those foods to end up in the trash unused over time, while also putting a financial burden on the business. One of the most effective ways to reduce food waste for your restaurant is to conduct regular inventory tracking first. At this point, priority should be given to the most demanded products instead of storing products that are never requested. Especially the number of perishable products should be kept low.

2) Offer Customers Options

A spread breakfast with many varieties may attract customers; however, uneaten food increases waste. At this point, leaving the food selection to your customer would be the right decision. For example, you can list the products that can come to the table in a spread breakfast and create separate prices for each. Additionally, you can leave the gram selection of each product to the customer. This way, customers only select what they will eat, and as a business owner, you prevent food waste.

3) Utilize Waste Food

No matter what you do, if waste food still remains at the end of the day, you should find ways to utilize them. At this point, you can send waste food to shelters or municipalities to be used as animal feed. This way, you can support street animals and earn extra points for your business. Additionally, you can distribute leftover food to the homeless at the end of the day or give them to your willing staff. You can also collect waste food and make compost for use in agriculture. This way, you can prevent even the smallest piece of food from becoming waste.

4) Store Food Properly

Did you know that thousands of products that are not stored properly spoil quickly and end up in the trash every year? You can prevent this by checking the storage areas in your restaurant. You can store products with short shelf life or those that spoil quickly in cold areas. Additionally, you can take care to keep these areas constantly clean to prevent bacteria formation in your storage areas.

5) Train Your Staff

If you have a crowded restaurant, tracking food alone can sometimes be difficult. At this point, you can train your employees on topics such as cooking and storing food properly, keeping storage areas clean, and classifying products by expiration date. This way, you can get maximum efficiency from your restaurant management.

Simplify Your Restaurant Management with NarPOS!

NarPOS offers indispensable opportunities for restaurants that receive online orders. Especially thanks to its cloud-based inventory program, it offers the ability to check your stock from wherever you want. You can check your inventory instantly even from your mobile phone. Thanks to the tablet placed in front of the kitchen staff, your cook can input and output food items. This way, you can track inventory and prevent food waste. If you also want more customers with good restaurant management, start benefiting from NarPOS's effective service options today!

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