Food waste is a global problem, and in the United States alone, up to 40% of food is never eaten. That translates to approximately $218 billion worth of food that gets thrown away each year!
In 2017, Compass Group North America committed to reduce food waste 25 percent by the year 2020 as part of its mission to create a positive impact for people, the planet, and the food system. As part of the Compass family, Levy is also committed to helping reduce food waste and is excited to participate in Stop Food Waste Day™, an international day of action to fight food waste on April 27th.
In addition to pledging to help make every day Stop Food Waste Day, Levy locations and partners are already doing their part to fight food waste by donating food, recycling at locations, and hosting Zero Waste events – an event that follows sustainable practices to send the least amount of waste possible to landfills.
At Bankers Life Fieldhouse, our Levy team and the local staff have produced two Zero Waste events already this year, in which more than 90 percent of the waste was either composted or recycled. This month’s Dropping Dimes Foundation Gala at the Fieldhouse achieved a 92.5 percent rating with 1,055 pounds of food, waste, and trash diverted from local landfills, while last month’s Corks and Forks fundraiser achieved a 92 percent rating.
And the company-wide efforts to help stop food waste don’t stop there. The majority of Levy’s locations donate leftover food after games and events, and we recently donated 4,952 pounds of food to the Central Texas Food Bank after the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.
Stop Food Waste Day™ is just one day dedicated to tackling our global food waste problem, but there are tons of ways that everyone can participate in helping fight food waste every day. Compass partner Eatable has a few great tips for practicing Stop Food Waste Day™ at home and at work:
- At home: Don’t waste any food for a day
For one day, or one meal, try not to waste any food. Pay attention to every piece of food you handle. For example, if you’re cooking, are you throwing out broccoli stems that you could be chopping up and eating in a salad? - At work: Donate, don’t discard
Do you know what happens to the food leftover from events you go to? Your office cafeteria? Your catered lunches? Find out whether your work’s perfectly good surplus food ends up on a plate or in a landfill.
Together, we can all help stop food waste!