Food waste can be defined as the disposing of wholesome food. And food waste in America is a very complicated issue, due in part to the sheer scale of the problem.

For instance, as a nation, food waste statistics indicate we discard an estimated 130 billion pounds of food each year. This amounts to approximately $160 billion annually, the equivalent of $500 per person.

This total also includes about 22 million pounds of food waste from schools and universities throughout the United States. In other words, the average college student tosses away about 142 pounds of food waste every year.

And at the same time such large amounts of food are being wasted, a report by Tanja Srebotnjak, a Hixon Professor of Sustainable Environmental Design at Harvey Mudd College, estimates that about “50 million Americans, including 15 million children, live with food insecurity in America. Thus, food waste on such a large scale is not only an economic loss, but it is also socially unjustifiable.”

Because so much food is wasted in this country’s colleges and universities, many schools are now taking steps to reduce and find solutions for food waste, while saving money at the same time. From a financial perspective, reducing food waste can help reduce the amount of food the school must purchase. Although it’s something often overlooked, when less food is wasted, trash pick-up costs may decline since so much of the trash collected is food waste.

One way reductions in food waste are being accomplished is by changing the way food is served on campuses. Some colleges offer their students and staff buffet-style dining during certain times of the day, most often breakfast and lunch. We are seeing this practice fall by the wayside.

It’s true buffet-style dining can be faster for students, who are often grabbing breakfast or lunch between classes. And it can be easier for food service personnel because it enables them to focus on just preparing the few items served at the buffet instead of providing a full-service menu of food items.

However, the practice often results in a lot of food waste--food that has been prepared but that is in excess of what is needed to be served. Staff is invariably concerned they might run out of food and as a result, prepare more food than necessary. And tracking consumption patterns to help prevent this and monitor food needs has not always proved successful.

But this is not the only change happening at schools and universities as they attempt to reduce food waste. Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta offers a perfect example of some of the steps many schools and universities around the country are now implementing, including:

Donate: A simple idea, but donating excess food that is not consumed on campus typically requires planning and staffing. Fortunately, many students at Georgia Tech have taken the lead, making this happen. They have created the Campus Kitchen at Georgia Tech, which collects extra meals and donates them to preselected partners such as the Atlanta Community Food Bank. They also have a program to help feed students on limited funds who attend the school.

Bio-digest: The school has installed a bio-digester. A bio-digester is like a mechanical stomach. Food that cannot be reclaimed or donated is run through the bio-digester, which converts it into a variety of products from mulch to a biogas that can be used to produce renewable energy. With such a system installed, Georgia Tech not only reduces food waste but can turn it around to help power the school, reducing operating costs.

Label: "Food labels [help us] identify products," says Staci Flores, who works with the university and its food service partners. "They inform us of the production date and list a specific use-by date for each item ensuring that we utilize all products prior to the use-by date."

This helps reduce food waste and eliminates another practice that often results in more food waste: the hand labeling of food labels, which is still a common practice at many schools and universities.

The problem with handwriting is that it is sometimes illegible and there are times when changes must be made to the label, causing confusion and unnecessary food waste. Food labeling terminal systems can provide more accuracy and produce labels that look more professional are much easier to read..

For more information on reducing food waste and food labeling systems contact a DayMark SafetySystems representative.