Printer Friendly Version

Like any other form of waste reduction, decreasing food waste means planning ahead. Festivals can save money and cut food waste substantially by using the following tips for eliminating waste at the source and planning reuse of certain kinds of scraps and leftovers.

• Keep records and use data from previous years to make your best estimates of how much food to bring to an event. Consider how people's food and beverage choices differ on a hot day versus a cold day and change your plans accordingly.
• Make signs and menus descriptive. Ensure that people with food allergies or keeping kosher or vegetarian diets can identify what they can't eat before they order.
• Offer a variety of portion sizes so customers can order the amount they are able to eat.
• Store ingredients or prepared-ahead items in a manner that will allow extras to be kept for future use. Meanwhile, keep an eye on your inventory and use perishables before they expire.
• Prevent expensive food-wasting mistakes by keeping the work area organized and making sure your staff is well prepared and informed. Reduce the potential for spills or burned food and verify that measures to prevent food contamination are followed.
• Get the most from your ingredients. For example, avoid cutting away too much produce with the peels and use garnishes people like to eat.
• Avoid opening several packages of a product. Opened packages often cannot be saved or donated to a food pantry. The same is true of pans of food that have been heated. The best strategy is to open or heat one and use it up before starting on the next container.
• Do some trouble-shooting to increase sales of items that are selling slowly and can't be kept. Promote the items by offering samples to people waiting in line or reduce the price when the end of the event draws near.
• Contact a food bank in advance to learn specific requirements for donating food, and plan your operations accordingly. Second Harvest can assist you with arrangements to donate excess food and can be reached at 414-931-7400.
• Look into composting non-meat food scraps that can't be saved. Contact a composting facility ahead of time to find out what can be composted and how the material should be stored.
• Refer to the "Festival Vendor Tips for Waste Reduction", produced by the Wisconsin Be SMART Coalition for further ideas (request a copy by calling 1-833-91-SMART)

Get even more ideas by learning how restaurants and grocery stores reduce waste. Request the Food Waste Briefing Paper produced by WasteCap Wisconsin, Inc. by calling 414-961-1100. 

Case Studies - Festival Food Waste Composting

(1) The Waukesha County Fair

While visitors to the 2000 Waukesha County Fair viewed horses, chickens and pigs, the very smallest farm animals worked behind the scenes to help the event save money and reduce trash. Earthworms and other creatures in compost bins feasted on over 600 pounds of food waste collected from the kitchen of the 4-H forum building.

During the 5-day fair, volunteers in the kitchen placed non-meat food scraps in special containers that were emptied daily. Signs provided volunteers with clear instructions. The kitchen scraps were taken to specially designed compost bins and mixed with animal bedding. The animal bedding served to absorb excess liquids and create the air spaces needed for fast and odorless decomposition. The compost bins were located away from busy areas of the fair. Bins with locking lids were chosen to prevent animal pests from getting into them.

The compost bins were left on the fairgrounds and within 5 weeks, the food waste and animal bedding mixture turned into rich compost for landscaping and amending the soil on the grounds. Plans for next year include expanding the food waste collection to other areas of the fair.

For more information about composting, waste reduction and recycling at the Waukesha County Fair, call the Be Smart Information Hotline at 1-866-91-SMART or Waukesha County's Business Recycling Specialist, 262-896-8317.

(2) Milwaukee's Earth Day 2000

An event designed to raise awareness for the environment needs a thorough waste reduction plan for its own operations. Part of the strategy for Milwaukee's 30^th Earth Day Celebration involved diverting food waste from trash dumpsters. After talking to pig farmers and learning that the event would take place at a time of year when pigs require special diets, arrangements were made to take food scraps to a compost facility.

Food vendors were informed of the plan and told what materials could and could not be saved for the compost collections. 20-gallon plastic containers with lids were provided to vendors who would prepare food on-site and generate fruit and vegetable peels and scraps. At the end of the one-day event, volunteers simply visited each vendor and took away the material. Almost 100 pounds of food waste were taken to Growing Power, a composting and community gardening facility in Milwaukee.

For more information about composting, waste reduction and recycling at Milwaukee's Earth Day 2000, call the Be Smart Information Hotline at 1-866-91-SMART.