Airport Experience® News - Post-Conference Issue 2023

Right: Celebrity Chef Andrew Zimmern joined the AX Conference to discuss an issue he feels passionately about: food waste in commercial kitchens. A panel discussion followed his keynote address.

With his credentials firmly established, Zimmern launched into the giant problem of food waste: “An estimated 17% of total global food production is wasted—11% in households, 5% in food service and 2% in retail—and around 14% of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, which is massive,” he said. “Most importantly to me, food that is lost and wasted accounts for 38% of total energy usage in our global food system. So the amount of energy that we’re losing as we’re wasting 14% of our global food source is killing us. It is truly existential.” What can restaurant operators do to tackle this massive issue? Zimmern offered several solutions that he has implemented at his restaurants: conduct regular waste audits; order to or below par to reduce spoilage; implement restaurant policies to reduce waste; calculate and control inventory days on hand; and use technology in recipe management for consistent portions and food waste trackers. “The biggest piece of knowledge I can give someone who’s just starting this journey is to make use of a group I work with called Refed: Go to refed.org and look into their insights tracker that explores solutions for businesses,” Zimmern advised. “I hope I’ve given you the motivation to reduce food waste in your businesses—nothing is more vital.”

Panel Weighs In Immediately following his keynote address, Zimmern invited a panel of speakers to the stage to discuss the issue of food waste in airports. Food waste reduction is top of mind for many airports and their concessions operators as they seek to meet or exceed sustainability goals and cut costs. The panelists included Erin Anderson, environmental specialist for Portland International Airport (PDX); Mel Hannah, vice president and general manager of Marketplace PHL ; Steve Byrne, vice president of concepts and standards for Areas USA ; and Jeff Steelman, vice president of culinary for HMSHost . Zimmern began by asking each of the panelists to discuss what initiatives they’ve implemented to tackle food waste, to give the audience an idea of what they can start doing now. Anderson noted that PDX’s food waste program began in the early 2000s and its food donation program began in 2013. “What we’ve found is you’ve got to look in your garbage to really know what you’re generating and what’s going through,” she said. “We’ve also found that it all trickles down to the lowest employed person taking the trash out. If we don’t support them, we’re not going to meet any of our goals. And so right now we’re resetting

Above: Erin Anderson, environmental specialist for Portland International Airport.

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