Restaurant Chains Are Hungry for Waste Reduction
Some chains are composting, donating leftovers and swapping single-use items for reusable ones.
Originally published on Waste360
Yum! restaurants donate more than 7 million pounds of food annually to partner agencies in the U.S. and globally.
Since 1992, the Yum! system has contributed more than 190 million pounds of food to more than 3,000 nonprofit organizations.
Its partner, Food Donation Connection, conducts training, identifies donatable items and recipients, coordinates donations and provides centralized management and support.
Jon Hixson, Yum! vice president of government relations and global citizenship, has advice for other restaurants on sustainability practices:
“Make it easy. We provide participating restaurants with a one-pager with pictures and simple instructions for back-of-house food collection procedures,” he says. “Leverage champions. We partner with franchises who see value in growing the program, rather than mandating participation from the top-down. And create a favorable policy landscape. Good Samaritan laws and financial incentives for food donation … help make these programs successful.”
