Food Businesses - Save More Than Food - Central Ohio Food Waste Initiative

Reducing Food Waste in Food Businesses

Food waste costs Central Ohio an estimated $400 million every year. By making small adjustments to purchasing and menu offerings, practicing safe food donation, and diverting food waste by feeding animals or composting, your business can save money, preserve natural resources, and be a better neighbor by providing meals to hungry members of your community. Learn how you can start reducing food waste today.

Prevent Food Waste

Sell Your Surplus Sell your unsold food in 'Surprise Bags' which are sold at 25-50% of their contents' original retail value. You unlock revenue from unsold food and welcome customers into your store, customers save money, and together we help save the planet.

Engage Your Kitchen Staff Ensure that your kitchen staff is up to date on the changes that you are making to reduce food waste and watch out for opportunities to refresh food prep practices to save every scrap.

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Measure Your Food Waste Take “snapshots” of your businesses food waste production with food waste audits.

EPA Food Loss Tracking Table

Explore Food Waste Tracking Technologies

LeanPath, Phood, and Winnow are three organizations which provide technology that captures weights and food types of food loss before it goes to the trash to help you lift the curtain on food waste reduction.

Phood Winnow LeanPath

EPA Food Recovery Challenge

Join the national effort to reduce food waste and track your food waste reduction over time with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Food Recovery Challenge.

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Manufacturer and Wholesaler, and Distributor’s Data Driven Food Loss Reduction Guide

This free e-book by food waste reduction organization, Spoiler Alert, is designed to help food distributors, retailers, and manufacturers use data to identify food loss in their operations and maximize return on investment for food waste prevention efforts.

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Plan Zero Waste Events

Using SWACO’s Zero Waste Event Guide, learn what steps you can take to make school events and gatherings Zero-Waste.

Zero-Waste Guide

Donate Surplus Food

Dept. of Public Health Guidance Guidance from the Franklin County and City of Columbus Departments of Public Health of food donation.

Public Health Guidance

Donation Liability Fact Sheet Businesses and nonprofits that donate or distribute donated food or grocery products
are well-protected by laws designed to provide immunity from liability related to food donations. This fact sheet translates the "legalese".

Fact Sheet

Chef Tom Colicchio Explains Liability Protections Chef Tom Colicchio Explains Liability Protections for Food Donors

Video

Tax Deductions for Food Donation Nashville Food Waste Initiative’s provides guidance on calculating your deduction.

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Find a Donation Partner

Columbus Food Rescue Local volunteers pick-up excess healthy food from local food donors and deliver it directly to local social service agencies that feed the food insecure.

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Rescuing Leftover Cuisine Rescuing Leftover Cuisine (RLC) is a non-profit organization that rescues and redistributes excess food to people experiencing food insecurity in the US. For $5, you can rescue 50 lbs. of food and prevent thousands of meals from being thrown away.

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Mid-Ohio Food Collective The Mid-Ohio Food Collective is the largest food bank in Ohio serving 20 counties. They are well equipped to accept large amounts of food.

Connect

Compost

Some food scraps are unavoidable- like lemon rinds and avocado pits- but those items can still be valuable sources of nutrients either for feeding animals or for composting. Learn more and get started today.

Connect with Local Haulers Local businesses provide hauling services to collect and process your food scraps into compost. Scroll down to see the local business partners who can help you start a program.

Engage Your Team with Compost Learn what steps you need to take to ensure your program’s success by engaging you team on what to compost, updating your waste hauling contract, and more. This guide from Chittenden County provides helpful step by step instructions to help you get started.

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Learn about On-Site Composting and DIY Options Click on the “Find On-Site Composting Options” button below to learn more about on-site composting models and technology to consider for your business.

Hear Another Food Business’s Compost Story

Eataly, a grocery retailer, partnered with the National Restaurant Association to share their experience of setting up a compost program in their store. Watch their story to learn from their experience.

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On-site Composting Options

US Composting Council Equipment Guide: This overview presentation provides an introduction to some of the steps and consideration to keep in mind when starting an on-site composting program and outlines a variety of technology options.

Vancouver On-site Composting Guide: This guide from Metro Vancouver compares several options for on-site composting systems to help you find a model that fits your operations and your price point.

Big Hanna Composter: An on-site composting option for large generators of food waste. Learn more and find out if the Big Hanna is right for you.

US Compost Council Equipment Guide Vancouver Guide Big Hanna

Connect With Local Organics Haulers

GoZERO Services GoZERO Compost hauling collects food scraps from a wide variety of local organizations ranging from communities and schools to small businesses and large organizations. Go to their website to learn more about their pricing model and service options.

company website

Organix Organix offers food waste diversion programs with mid to large scale food businesses. Go to their website to learn more about their pricing models and service options.

company website

Compost Clubhouse Compost Clubhouse is an organization that empowers kids to educate and inspire in our communities with the goal of keeping food out of our landfills.

company website

The Compost Exchange The Compost Exchange offers curbside food waste collection services for residents, businesses, and communities throughout Central Ohio ensuring food scraps don’t end up in landfills where they cause problems for the environment.

COMPANY WEBSITE

Specialized Guides & Additional Resources

Find Resources Designed Specially for your Business

Hotel Kitchens Developed by the World Wildlife Fund to support food waste reduction in hotels, Hotel Kitchen shares insights for each member of your team from financial teams to kitchen staff.

Hotel Kitchen

ReFED's Retailer Guide According to ReFED, retailers waste roughly double their food profits on food they throw away- but their comprehensive guide can help you beat the odds. With ReFED’s retailer guide, learn how to reduce food waste today.

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EPA Prevention Checklist for Retailers Get the quick summary of steps you can take to prevent food waste in retail settings.

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ReFED's Restaurant Food Waste Guide ReFED reports that US restaurants spend $25 billion a year on food that goes to waste. Find the facts and make a plan with the help of ReFEDS Restaurant Food Waste Guide.

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EPA Prevention Checklist for Restaurants EPA prevention Checklist: Get the quick summary of steps you can take to prevent food waste in restaurants.

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ReFED's Food Service Businesses Guide Food service organizations- businesses who provide food to client organizations in corporate, healthcare, and educational settings- spend $11.4 billion dollars on wasted food each year. But you can be part of the solution. Learn more with ReFED’s guidance for food service businesses.

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EPA Prevention Checklist for Universities Check out EPA’s quick list of ways that universities can make a difference by reducing their food waste.

View Guide

Manufacturers Learn about options for manufacturers to reduce food waste with the EPA’s checklist for manufacturers.

EPA Checklist

Food Trucks Space and finances are valuable resources. Protect both while reducing your food waste by understanding your food waste production and adapting your practices in response.

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Franklin County Food Business Resource Portal

Use these free resources designed specially for Franklin County food businesses to Plan, Launch, and Grow your food business. Find local partners and resources to start growing your business today.

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