5 Tips To Reduce Food Waste at Your Catering Event

5/5 - (1 vote)

A significant problem within the food industry is the overproduction of foods that will eventually be thrown away. This is especially true for catering companies because they need to prepare a meal for a large number of guests. To help your catering business reduce the amount of food waste produced at your next event, consider our top five tips.

Minimize Your Menu

When you’re making food and plating dishes, only use ingredients each recipe calls for, and consider limiting your menu and decreasing your portion sizes to avoid leftover food once everyone finishes their meal.

Record Data From Previous Events

If you aren’t doing so already, consider recording the amount of food waste you’re producing at each catering event. When you have a rough estimate of the average amount wasted, it’ll be easier to determine which food ingredients to order and how much. Seeing a physical percentage of food waste can help give you a better perspective on how to fix this problem.

Create a Compost Bin

Are you making an effort to be more sustainable by growing your ingredients? Consider taking the leftover food scraps from the event and composting them. This will eliminate a large portion of the food that would have gone in the trash, and you can use the compost in your company’s garden beds! Just be sure you’re only throwing scraps in the bin that are appropriate for composting.

Ask Guests To RSVP

A great way to reduce food waste at your catering event is to ask guests to RSVP so you’ll know how many people will attend beforehand. This will allow you to make the appropriate amount of meals without fear of overpreparing. You can even include a survey in the invitation so guests can select which meal option they’ll want to enjoy on the day of the event.

Consider a No-Show Policy

The potential risk of sending RSVPs, though, is some guests will respond to the invitation only to not show up, which wastes their meal. If you’re noticing this issue has increased in recent events, consider implementing a no-show policy for your next event. Remember to be polite but clear when writing this message in the invitation so guests are aware of this stipulation before they RSVP.

Food waste is a significant issue for catering companies; however, you can take action today by using a disposable food tray supplier. Offering disposable food trays can encourage event guests to take leftovers home instead of letting the food go to waste. How will you minimize the amount of food waste you’re producing at your business?