Anyone who has worked in a restaurant or catering business has grasped the problem, whether they’ve cleared a diner’s plate from the table after a meal or been the one to scrape the refuse into the trash: there are few members in the “clean plate club.”
A 2026 study published by Georgetown University highlighted in part the research team’s work literally picking through Washington DC restaurants’ trash, identifying and weighing every morsel. Among the findings: food left on plates accounted for 70 percent of total restaurant waste. Starches and sides were tossed the most—French fries in particular, but also rice, chips and other preparations of potatoes (fruit, vegetables and dips were up there, too).
The City of Minneapolis was already addressing the issue. During November, 2025, the first cohort of Minneapolis restaurants completed the city’s free (yes, free) Food Forward program, which is focussed on reducing the amount of food in the city’s waste stream. During the the six-week program, those participating restaurant kitchen managers or owners chose the best strategy to reduce food waste for their particular operation, and, with the help of a well-qualified coaching team, implemented that strategy. The result? More efficient operations, less food waste going to the landfill, and the restaurant was paid $500 for the effort.
The city is continuing the program with additional cohorts in August, September, November, January 2027 and February 2027.
Prevention and diversion
It’s not the fault of the diner that they don’t eat everything on the plate. Even in this era of weight-consciousness (healthy and not), GLP-1s, and looksmaxxing (what the—?), there is still a mindset for many in the restaurant industry that a full plate equals value. One way to fill the plate is with less-expensive sides (although, these days, nothing is inexpensive).
Herein lies the “prevention” piece of waste management. Restaurateurs and chefs should take advantage of changing consumer habits, backed up in recent surveys, that show consumers desire more customization with food ordering—including portion control. Read, save money in production and inventory. Further, consumers are willing to pay for quality, experience and efforts to reduce waste. A well-designed menu should be efficient, with ingredients finding their way to multiple dishes and sub-recipes. The “diversion” side addresses the inevitable: there will always be food waste in restaurant operations. How best to divert it from the landfill? Organics recycling is the obvious answer, but there’s a lot that goes into that, from FOH customer waste stations, to kitchen prep areas, to the back alley waste bins and dumpsters. Staff training is the key.
The Food Forward program modules address “prevention” by working with the restaurant team on inventory, menu planning and operations. The “diversion” side goes “beyond the bin” and dives into food waste diversion strategies and staff training.
It’s well worth it—I went through it myself, and wish there was something like it available during my career running a wholesale bakery. To prevent waste, we did our best with training our bakers and packers. To divert waste, we did our best with composting with programs available at the time, and training staff. But, as this Food Forward program proved to me, there are many new options available for “diversion,” and many training options on the “prevention” side that I was just too busy to think about.
For those Minneapolis restaurant owners, chefs and general managers interested in the program—or if you’re reading this and know someone who would—click this link for more information. On that website page, you can also find interest forms to fill out in English and Spanish. Again, it’s a free program, and what you get out of it (aside from the knowledge) is certification, ongoing marketing efforts from the city and partner organizations, and (as mentioned above) $500 for the effort.
