Food Waste Consulting

It is estimated that one-third to one-half of all food produced is wasted around the world. The causes of food waste vary and occur at all stages of the food supply chain including production, processing, retailing, and consumption.

At Food Connections we are passionate about reducing food waste in Vancouver and redistributing quality surplus food to those in need. We provide consulting on how to reduce food waste at the household level and at the restaurant producer level. We also love mentoring passionate entrepreneurs with innovative ideas in this field and guide them through the launch process.

Reduce your Restaurant's Food Costs 

By reducing food waste in your restaurant or food company, you will save costs. A study at the University of Arizona estimates 9.5% of food is wasted at fast food restaurants and 3.1% at full-serve restaurants.

We work with restaurants to reduce food waste by:

• Proper food storage
• Menu planning according to the food in your pantry and fridge
• Assessing the correct quantity of food to order
• Forecasting the food you are selling based on data and trends (for example, people eat more in the winter and less in the summer)
• Decrease portioning if there is a lot of plate waste on a certain menu item
• Decreasing the frequency of food deliveries

From the work we did with Oasis Cafe in Vancouver, we were able to help them reduce their food waste by an estimated 30-50%.

We also focus on placing the lost value back into food through redistribution. We connect food businesses that have surplus food to charities that will benefit from them. Connect with us!

Become a Food Surplus Entrepreneur

A food surplus entrepreneur creates a business that reduces food waste or uses food surplus. There are several ways you can be a food surplus entrepreneur.

1. Food Waste Prevention - you can start a company that works with other organizations to decrease food waste by changing the processes in an organization. This results in a financial benefit to the organization and their customers.
2. Harvest, Sort, and Distribute Food Surplus - you can start a company that harvests crops that would have decayed on the field because of overproduction or low prices and find ways to sell or distribute this food.
3. Food Surplus Transportation - one of the biggest reasons for food waste is logistical. You can start a company that solves the transportation problem of moving food surplus in a timely manner, before it decays.
4. Process Food Surplus - use food surplus by processing it into products like juices, jams, chutney, or snacks.
5. Food Surplus Restaurant - Start a restaurant that cooks food surplus immediately and serves it to their customers. Alternatively, you can start a food production company that finds creative ways to use food surplus to make your product.

Through our experience of hosting the “Feeding the 5000” event, we have become aware of and connected to food surplus opportunities around Greater Vancouver. From designing a sustainable food surplus startup to food surplus ingredient and supplier sourcing, we can help.

Food Waste Awareness for Cities

We have partnered with cities in Canada to raise awareness about food waste in their communities. A recent example was a project we did with Love Food Hate Waste in Metro Vancouver. Their goals was to help local households reduce food waste, which is a key component to their goal of a 10% reduction of per capita waste by 2020. Food Connections was hired by Love Food Hate Waste to launch an outreach in Safeway stores to educate consumers on how to reduce household food waste.

We created recipes using food that most of us automatically compost and served samples at outreach events to engage interest and send consumers to the LFHW website. We designed educational tools and fun activities to help consumers learn how to keep their food fresher for longer. Our team had booths in 10 Safeways around Greater Vancouver.

Food Connections has created a banner educating people how best to store their groceries without using plastic bags, which is available for rent at your next event.