When it comes to catering food for attendees at events, we’re always befuddled by the simple question of “how much should we order?” We don’t want to order too little because hungry attendees are hangry (hungry and angry) people.
So what do we do?
Order more food – way more. We’ll have everyone well-fed and risk food wastage instead of putting our attendees’ satisfaction on the line. The result? We’re faced with global climate issues and inequality in food distribution globally.
Not quite the best outcome.
Well, let us explore a few options in this article to handle the excess food we have at events and put them to good use. Feel-good suggestions coming right up!
Donate
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There are people out there who could use a meal or two to tide them over or get them up on their feet. According to foodtank.com, “The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted annually.” On top of that, “the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that global food production accounts for 70 percent of fresh water use and 80 percent of deforestation. Food production is also the largest single driver of biodiversity loss and creates at least 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.”
With that in mind, there are initiatives taking place around the world that we can work with to make use of our food wastage. Check out 21 Inspiring Initiatives Working to Reduce Food Waste Around the World and find out what fits. Just make sure that the food is safe and well stored. Stick to the guidelines to maximize your excess food donation!
Recycle
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Besides food donations, we can also consider converting food waste into energy. The world is researching different methods to get renewable energy, so we can do our part by recycling our excess food.
Get in touch with organizations in your area that provide such services and capabilities to get you kickstarted on this process for your future events. Want to learn more about the food recycling process? Check out how it works at recyclenow.com.
Estimate
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Last but not least, estimate the actual amount of food we want to cater for an event. Though we have ways to donate and recycle food, we shouldn’t take it for granted that there’ll always be a way to deal with excess food. There might be situations where our events can meet with difficulties, thus not giving us the necessary opportunities to deal with the food wastage at hand.
So how much food is enough for an event?
Caterista.com suggests that we consider the following factors before we start ordering:
- the number of attendees coming
- the length of the event
- the type of event
- the type of food required
The general rule of thumb is “the longer guests remain, the more they’ll consume.”
For more tips on catering for events, check out Catering Tips: How Much Food is Enough for Your Event?
In short…
We should take the time we need to figure out the proper amounts of food to cater for an event. When that aspect is settled, then comes the necessary food donation efforts and recycling to alleviate the wastage that occurs. When we make our events sustainable, not only do we save money, but we save the planet as well.
What other ways can you think of to reduce food wastage, or put it to good use?
Drop your comments down below!
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