How Caterers can Help Reduce Food Waste

Dec 9, 2016 10:30 AM ET

Christy Cook

Director, Sustainability Performance & Field Support - Sodexo North America

This is the third in a series about food waste and the social license. You might recall from our first post that the concept of social license is about asking our customers to accept practices in the food experience that reduce waste. So far, we’ve discussed how the concept of the social license can reduce food waste in restaurants. Today we are going to tackle catering – a very complicated and difficult beast.

Reducing food waste can be more difficult for caterers because of the pressure to offer a perfect experience. Imagine this scenario: It’s a gorgeous autumn day. A beautiful couple just shared their wedding vows, and this couple and their guests are now headed to the buffet. It’s getting close to the end of the buffet line but – gasp – one of entrees has run out and is no longer available. Can you imagine the pressure that comes with potentially ruining someone’s special day? This is a caterer’s worst nightmare, and I bet any caterers reading this now are uncomfortable just thinking about it.

To read more go to Sodexo Insights