Jul 14, 2008 6:24 am US/Central
Hospital Reduces Food Waste, Has Tips For Homes
(WCCO)
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The hospital quit buying croutons, and instead starting using cut-up bread ends as a substitute. (File)
It's estimated that Americans waste about 27 percent of the food available to eat. That's about a pound of food a day for every American.
With food costs up almost 10 percent this year, those statistics can be alarming. A Twin Cities hospital is doing what it can to cut-down on food waste. With a little effort, their success could translate into your own home.
When it comes to being an American and wasting food, knowing the statistics can be hard to digest. We account for nearly 30 million tons of food waste each year. Don't lose your appetite just yet, because there is hope.
In 2006, the folks at North Memorial Medical Center noticed they were spending about $2 million a year on food, and a lot of it was being wasted. So they signed up for a program called "Valu Waste." Any time food wasn't consumed, they "weighed the waste."
"So then we'll go through and we'll pick the reason why -- dropped, spilled, is it overproduction, was it a display plate?" recalled Nancy Darbut with North Memorial.
That information was put in a computer and it gave the kitchen staff some ideas. For instance, they used to cut strawberries in half, throwing out the half with the stem still attached. Now, just the stem gets tossed.
The same thing was done with cucumbers. Noodles were put in soup at the last possible second so they stayed fresh, and the soup could be refrigerated if it wasn't served.
They also quit buying croutons, and instead starting using cut-up bread ends as a substitute. That measure alone saved the hospital $5,000.
After one year in the program, North Memorial reduced food waste by 50 percent. It has been so effective that some of the employees are now using the program at home.
"People do waste a lot of food, so maybe their food budget could be cut by 10 or 15 percent by using it better," suggested Darbut.
In their first year in the Valu Waste program, North Memorial saved $50,000.
Patient satisfaction at the hospital has improved each year because they also kept a better food temperature, preserved food longer and reduced waste. North Memorial's food budget has not increased since they began the program in 2006.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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