Halved their food waste within a year

Our school restaurants in the Solna area serve around one million portions of food per year. When it turned out that the amount of food waste was higher in reality than the schools’own measurements showed, Sodexo Site Manager Theodora Savvaki and her team set a goal to halve their food waste within a year. They were able to achieve this goal thanks to the dedication of their staff and the involvement of students in food waste management.

What measures have been implemented?

• Staff have been trained on food waste issues

• Anew food waste reporting template was developed and has started to be implemented

• Different ways of dealing with leftovers have been introduced

• Arecipe bank has been created for leftover vegetables and other items

• There are ongoing discussions with the school office for accurate information on the number of portions

• Cupboards are kept tidy so that it is possible to see at a glance what’s available and what needs to be ordered

• Smaller serving dishes are used towards the end of service to reduce the risk of putting out too much food

Student are involved by:

• Reporting plate waste on a daily basis

• Talking about food waste at food councils

• Holding theme days and competitions

• Students are offered encouraging rewards in the form of extra treats with their meals when set targets are reached

“In our experience, we have to run regular activities and remind both ourselves and the students to reduce food waste. Otherwise it starts increasing again,”