Question about the real cost of restaurant food waste

I was reading a report from the National Restaurant Association last week. It said the average restaurant throws away about 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of food a year. That number floored me. I knew we tossed stuff, but I never added it up like that. It's a huge hit to the bottom line that most owners don't even see. How do you guys track and cut down on waste in your kitchens?

2 comments

2 Comments

rose_young2mo ago

Honestly, those big numbers feel a bit off to me. Most places I know are scraping by and watching every head of lettuce. The real cost is probably in all the little things that go bad in the walk-in because someone over-ordered.

valthomas2mo ago

Right though, @rose_young. People throw around these huge waste numbers, but is it really that bad? Most kitchens are run so tight now, they can't afford to lose a whole case of anything. The real problem is probably just a few bags of salad and some dairy getting old. Makes you wonder where those big stats even come from.