Arcadia reduces food waste by 52%, $14K through prevention program

Arcadia University was featured by Leanpath, a food waste and kitchen efficiency company, for reducing food waste by more than 50 percent since August 2022 through the University dining service’s food waste prevention program.

According to Leanpath’s article, Metz Culinary Management, Arcadia’s food service provider, has set a goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030, in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for food waste reduction.

“We launched the food waste prevention program … initially just to get a baseline on what we were throwing out. The photos and the data really opened our eyes to the cost value of what we were wasting,” Tim Morris, Executive Chef at Arcadia University, said.

Tim Morris, Executive Chef at Arcadia University

By following the data and adjusting production across their 18 locations, Metz has generated the following results:

  • 30+% food waste reduction
  • 74K+ pounds of food waste prevention
  • $288K projected food waste savings in first year
  • 235K metric tons of COavoidance
  • 29+M gallons of water conserved, the equivalent of 829,553 bathtubs of water

“Since October 3, data shows that our team has reduced food waste by 52%, which equates to $14,000+ dollars in saved. We’ve also incorporated an incentive program for our team members who can earn a gift card for reducing food waste,” Morris said.

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Photo: Architizer