1. Make food waste reduction and diversion a part of your planning from the beginning.
2. Track and review attendance and consumption data from past events to help determine the type and quantities of food to order. Resist the urge to refresh buffets and self-service stations too soon. "Our goal should be to provide just the right amount. So let service staff know when you want them to refresh and that it is okay to have the food diminish,"
3. Choose in-season food that can be procured from local vendors to minimize the carbon footprint. Also consider integrating ingredients that consume fewer resources.
Vegetarian selections can be less resource-intensive than proteins, Mckinley says, and chicken, turkey, and pork have lower water and carbon footprints than beef or lamb.
4. Think about how the flow of meals might allow the caterer to make use of leftovers, such as using any unserved vegetables from the dinner buffet as a soup-starter the next day or turning extra bread into croutons.
5. Use reusable plates and flatware when possible. For disposables, choose serving ware and utensils that can be recycled or composted and that are produced by a vendor that minimizes the use of water and chemicals in production. Avoid packaging such as plastic bags, wrappers, and foil that can't be recycled or composted.
6. Offer tumblers and hydration
stations or pitchers of water
instead of single-use bottled water.
7. Select caterers and venues that support sustainability initiatives and ask if they have relationships with local food pantries and can coordinate food donations. Check online resources such as Rock &
Wrap It Up's Hungerpedia, a database of thousands of agencies that accept donated food, and Feeding America, a national network of food banks.
8. Understand the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation
Act, a federal law that protects organizations and individuals from liability issues when they donate
"apparently wholesome food" in good faith to a nonprofit organization. "One of the biggest reasons businesses are not donating food is because the shelters won't accept it because they don't know that as long as serve-safe guidelines are followed, there are no liability issues," Siles says. She helped to create NACE
New England's Feeding Our Neighbors initiative, which educates venues, caterers, and food pantries on how to give and receive donations and also facilitates donations to nonprofits in the area.
9. Add a compost receptacle next to the traditional trash and recycling cans.
10. Communicate with your attendees about food waste before, during, and after your event.