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.

Overview

Make a Difference in Food Businesses

Find more on each of these topics by scrolling through this page.

Prevention Preventing food waste saves money. Learn how you can use insights from measuring your food waste to make changes in purchasing, adjust menus, or conduct employee trainings to reduce your food waste and save money for your business.

Rescue Safe donation of excess food both reduces food waste and allows your business to provide fresh meals for hungry members of your community. Learn about easy ways to start a food donation program, connections with local partners, and find guidance on liability protection and tax benefits.

Compost Some food scraps are unavoidable- like lemon rinds and avocado pits- but those items can still be diverted from landfills. Connect with local compost haulers and find resources to help you get started.

Calling All Food Waste Innovators

In October 2020, Rev1 Ventures and SWACO announced a partnership to advance new technologies in food waste in the Central Ohio region. Technologies will address food waste reduction in manufacturing, commercial kitchens, retail, and residential spaces. Learn more about the partnership and connect in with the innovation work at the link below.

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Share The Campaign Tell Customers About Your Food Waste Reduction

Use pre-designed Save More Than Food social media posts and images to talk to customers about the work that you are doing to reduce food waste and encourage them to do their part too!

Share The Campaign

Prevention

Save Money and the Environment by Preventing Food Waste

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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Conduct your Own Waste Audit Use this guidance document from the EPA to measure and understand your food waste reduction without additional technology. By understanding your food waste, you can target problem spots in your operations and save money by reducing food waste. You can also use EPA’s food waste tracking table to document loss over time.

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Measure Your Food Waste Take “snapshots” of your businesses food waste production with food waste audits. Use the guide below for a quick and easy approach, or read about innovative technologies to track food waste in real time under “Additional Resources”.

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

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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Rescue

Prevent Food Waste by Donating Meals to Hungry Neighbors

Learn About Safe Food Donation Excess foods from large events can be donated to provide meals for hungry members of our communities. Learn the basics of Central Ohio Food Donation with this brochure from local health departments and The Central Ohio Food Waste Initiative

View Brochure

Donate Prepared Meals without Leaving your Kitchen Our community is home to local non-profit partners who are ready to help you with your donation of prepared meals by providing safe transportation of donated food from your restaurant to local hunger relief efforts. Learn more and connect with partners by clicking on More Resources below.

Donate Wholesale Excess Food Local food banks are excited to partner with you to help feed our communities, and the Mid-Ohio Collective is ready with the resources you need to make large food donations.

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Donation of Prepped Meals - Local Chapters

Contact your local chapter to find out more about Food Rescue US and how you can get involved.

Help the hungry by rescuing and donating leftover food through your local chapter of Rescuing Leftover Cuisine. Find out more and contact them today!

Learn More about Food Rescue US Contact Food Rescue Us Learn More about Rescuing Leftover Cuisine Contact Rescuing Leftover Cuisine

Food Donation Liability Protection

Federal and State laws offer protection for donors who provide food to nonprofit organizations to feed those in need. Learn more from the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic about the federal legislation protecting donors to feel confident about your donation.

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Earn Tax Deductions on your Food Donation

Learn how you can earn deductions on your business’s federal taxes by donating food with the Nashville Food Waste Initiative’s guidance on calculating your deduction.

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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.

View Checklist

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.

View Guide

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

View Checklist

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.

View Guide

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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Compost

Divert Food Scraps from Landfills with Composting

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 Compost Haulers

Reach Out for Quotes to Start Composting Today

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.

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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.

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Have Questions? Reach out to experts at SWACO to discuss your composting needs and find the right option for your business.