Reducing food waste is not only about what ends up in the bin – it starts much earlier, with food planning, purchasing, storage, preparation and serving. To help professionals in the catering sector and educational institutions implement practical solutions for preventing and reducing food waste in their daily work, guidelines on food waste prevention and reduction for the HoReCa sector (hotels, restaurants and catering) and educational institutions have been developed within the LIFE Integrated Project "Waste To Resources Latvia - boosting regional sustainability and circularity". The guidelines provide recommendations for more efficient food planning and purchasing, storage, portion planning, the use of leftovers, food waste monitoring and employee engagement.
For educational institutions, reducing food waste is also an opportunity to raise students’ awareness of the value of food and sustainable consumption. The guidelines therefore also include recommendations on how to involve students, teachers and catering staff in developing habits that help reduce food waste both at school and beyond.
In the HoReCa sector, the guidelines encourage businesses to view food waste reduction not only as an environmental issue, but also as an opportunity to improve resource efficiency, reduce costs and enhance operational efficiency.
The guidelines were developed taking into account the experience of representatives from school catering services and catering businesses, ensuring that the recommendations can be applied in a variety of settings – from restaurants and hotels to schools and other institutions providing catering services.
To ensure that the guidelines and the solutions they contain reach those who work with food on a daily basis, a series of five regional seminars will take place at vocational education institutions across Latvia in October and November this year under the title “Smart Kitchen: Less Waste, More Value. 5 Challenges.” Representatives of the hospitality and catering sectors, catering specialists from educational institutions, teachers and aspiring chefs will come together to discuss food waste prevention, sustainable catering and circular economy solutions.
Participants will have the opportunity not only to learn about the guidelines and practical solutions, but also to share experiences, meet industry professionals and gain inspiration for new approaches to using food and other resources more efficiently in the kitchen. This exchange of experience and interaction between different generations and industry professionals is essential for turning sustainable practices from ideas into everyday action. Information about the seminars and registration will soon be available on the project website.
The guidelines have been developed within the LIFE Integrated Project “Waste To Resources Latvia - boosting regional sustainability and circularity”.
Less food waste means not only a lower environmental impact - it also means getting more value from every product purchased, every portion served and every resource used in the kitchen.
The guidelines and supporting materials are available in Latvian:
Guidelines
Infographics
Checklist
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