Reducing Food Waste Requires Thinking Outside The Box

By Sam Lewis

According to USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, nearly 133 billion pounds of food makes its way to the landfill each year in the U.S. Needless to say, this is an enormous amount of wasted food and it is creating major business, environmental, and social problems. Here, Meghan Stasz, Senior Director of Sustainability at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, answers my questions about what food manufacturers can do to reduce or eliminate food waste in both manufacturing facilities and in their supply chains.

Food Online: Why should food manufacturers be concerned about reducing food waste?

Stasz: Food waste is what we call a “triple bottom line issue,” meaning there is a business, environmental, and social benefit to reducing food waste in our operations. From a business standpoint, food waste can represent inefficiency. We see cost savings when we reduce waste in the system, and food waste is no different. From an environmental standpoint, when we waste food, we waste all the natural resources, such as water and fertilizer, used to grow, produce, and transport that food. Finally, one in six Americans struggles with food insecurity, according to Feeding America. We all have a role to play in making sure food is getting to those who need it.  

Food Online: How can food manufacturers evaluate how much product is being wasted in a facility, as well as in their supply chain?

Stasz: The first and most important step in reducing food waste is to measure how much food waste you’re generating. The best way to do that is through what’s called a “waste audit.” This is where you actually measure and categorize what’s in your waste stream. The assessment that the cross-industry Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA) performs annually sends a survey to manufacturers, retailers, and restaurant companies to quantify the amount of food waste generated and food donated. Sometimes companies hire a third-party expert to do a waste audit or they use internal resources. The FWRA’s Best Practices Guide has some great tips and examples from companies who performed their own and show how to get started. We know that once companies start measuring their food waste, they often find opportunities for cost savings and efficiencies right away.

Food Online: How can a food manufacturer find new value or opportunity in food items that are considered waste?

Stasz: We see the most success in finding new value in products or operations efficiencies when employees are empowered to think creatively. A great example from the FWRA Best Practices Guide is from Campbell’s. The company partnered with a local food bank to take excess peaches in New Jersey and turn them into peach salsa. This reduces on-farm food waste and saves peaches from going to landfill, saves the growers dumping the peaches, and leverages the skills of Campbell’s employees to help the food bank, while providing a value-added product for the food bank.

Food Online: What initiatives can food manufacturers put in place at operating facilities to reduce food waste?

Stasz: The first step is to measure and quantify food waste. Once companies understand that part of their waste stream, we often see immediate opportunities for waste reduction and cost savings. The other is to encourage employees to really think creatively.

For example, there’s a great story from ConAgra Foods in the FWRA Best Practices Guide about the company’s Snack Pack pudding. When pudding is run through the manufacturing line, the line needs to be flushed between flavors. In the past, this meant there was a batch of mixed flavors when the line switched from one flavor to another — lemon mixed with butterscotch, for example — and these would be thrown away. But, the team at the Snack Pack facility got creative and strategically planned flavor switches to create blended flavors, such as chocolate and vanilla. These blended flavors are now donated and the product doesn’t go to waste.

Food Online: What initiatives or best practices can food manufacturers apply to their supply chains for food waste reduction?

Stasz: Food waste happens all along the supply chain and no one sector can solve this challenge on their own. That’s why FWRA brings together the manufacturing, retail, and restaurant industries. Collaboration and sharing best practices is key to everyone’s success.

One example is companies from across, or even within industries, sharing food waste diversion infrastructure. Anaerobic digesters, which turn food waste into energy, can be expensive and require a lot of consistent food waste to operate properly. Often, one company can’t guarantee either the funding or the feedstock on their own. But, when several companies or facilities are located near each other, they can share the cost and operations of that digester. This keeps food waste out of landfills and creates energy from what was once considered waste.

Food Online: Where can food manufacturers get more information and education on best practices to reduce waste in both their manufacturing facilities, as well as their supply chains?

Stasz: At the upcoming FMI GMA Supply Chain Conference, attendees can hear first-hand from companies who have found real value to their bottom line in measuring and managing food waste in their supply chain. These speakers from the FWRA will talk about the work of the alliance and their company’s experiences with this issue, as well as successes and challenges in tackling food waste, and increasing food donation.

Also, The FWRA Best Practices Guide and assessment tools, and all our reports can be found on the group’s website. There are great resources there from the FWRA and its partners to help a company get started on a food waste reduction or food donation program. It can even help take existing programs to the next level.

About Meghan Stasz
Meghan Stasz is the Senior Director, Sustainability for the Grocery Manufacturers Association in Washington, D.C. In this role, she works on issues such as waste, water, sourcing, energy, and other topics as they pertain to the food, beverage, and consumer products industry. Among other initiatives, Meghan is currently leading the Food Waste Reduction Alliance initiative — a three-year, collaborative, cross-industry initiative to reduce food waste sent to landfill and increase food donation to food banks in the U.S. She also is working extensively on packaging and recycling efforts.

Meghan has over 10 years of experience in the environmental sustainability field. Prior to GMA, she spent several years with the Environmental Defense Fund where she was the Project Manager of the organization’s Farm and Food Policy Reform campaign. Meghan received her B.A. from Hamilton College and her M.B.A. from Boston College.