Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/802137
program to separate organic matter from trash, and also works with an individual who collects meals that can't be kept until the next day and delivers them to local shelters. "In terms of changing, we're just going to get better and better at doing this," Sonnenfelt says. "Food waste is a huge, huge problem, so I see us just getting tighter and better at dealing with it." This issue is even more pressing for larger operations like Hy-Vee, which operates 242 stores across eight states. Much of the responsibility of preventing food waste falls on the back end as well. "We put an emphasis on avoiding as much food waste as possible," explains John Griesenbrock, vice president of produce/health mar- kets. "Our stores constantly work to reduce their food waste through inventory and shelf management, which helps forecast the demand of food." The team also works on efficiency of product purchasing and procurement methods to help prevent excess food on shelves from the start. Additionally, the grocer announced last month that it's part- nering with Robinson Fresh, one of the largest produce companies in the world, to offer a discounted line of imperfect produce. The Misfits program includes seasonal items—such as peppers, cucum- bers, squash, apples, and tomatoes—that don't necessarily meet standards for store shelves. "In accepting less cosmetically pleasing produce," Griesenbrock says, "Hy-Vee is aligning with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recently announced goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by the year 2030." Hy-Vee also partners with food banks and other organizations to donate extra food, and works with local food waste recycling companies to compost organic waste to the tune of 2 million pounds each month. Some Hy-Vee stores are able to sell the compost created by their own food waste recycling to customers, or use the compost to fertilize the stores' community garden plots. Getting Creative with Ingredients in the Kitchen For Steven Satterfield, executive chef and co-owner of Miller Union in Atlanta, getting creative in the kitchen also helps his restaurant minimize waste. "There are a lot of missed opportunities for food," he says. "I focus a lot on the produce side of it." By utilizing stems and stalks and celebrating the curve of the vegetable, Satterfield and his cooks are able not only to reduce the amount of waste in the kitchen, SPRING 2017 33