Waste Not, Want Not - Work With Food Banks to Reduce Waste and Improve Community Relations

If you've been following this magazine for the past year and a half, you know that we emphasize the importance of proper inventory management and prep techniques to avoid food waste. In an ideal world, 100 percent of the food that goes into your pantry or cooler is put to work, building your check average and pleasing your guests; however, in the world in which we live, we have a perishable inventory that often can't be restocked and resold.

Waste is inevitable, particularly during the startup phase when you're fine-tuning your systems and procedures, and one of your biggest fears is running out of anything.

If "86-ing"otherwise good food at the end of a shift causes you to grit your teeth while you're fighting for every penny, take some solace in that you're not alone. One-quarter of the food produced in restaurants and businesses in this country each day goes to waste, according to the Department of Agriculture. But rather than literally washing those dollars down the drain or tossing them in the trash, consider establishing a partnership with area homeless shelters and food pantries. In that way, leftover and perishable food will benefit those who need it and you will find a tax benefit and potential public relations value that can build your presence and reputation in the community.

The local organizations that take surplus food and make it available to the disadvantaged go by several generic designations, such as "food banks" and "food networks." You'll also note specific monikers including Foodshare and Hunger Busters. But a rose is still a rose by any other name, and many of these local organizations are members of America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization with a network of more than 200 regional member food banks and food rescue programs. (See "Get Involved" below.)