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Supplying the meetings industry with food and beverage services can be demanding and competitive. Offering environmentally responsible choices will give you the competitive advantage, without costing the farm.
- Provide condiments, beverages, and other food items in bulk instead of individually packaged.
- Ensure food and beverage packaging is recyclable, and that it will be recycled at the end of the event.
- Offer shade grown, organic coffee and fair trade coffee, tea, cocoa and sugar (for a list of suppliers please see our Links and Resources section)
- Use local produce that is in season in meals.
- Incorporate organic produce, and free run chicken/eggs/meats.
- Offer vegetarian meal selections.
- Ask meeting planners to have delegates ‘sign-up’ for meals, by letting you know what meals they will be attending. This will reduce food waste - and your costs.
- Suggest delegates be allowed to pre-select their meal sizes beforehand. Some people may not want all of the courses; others may want smaller portions. Pre-selection will cut down dramatically on food wastage.
- Arrange to have left over food donated to a local food bank or soup kitchen.
- Arrange with an organic waste composting operation or local farm to take usable left over food portions.
- Always use reusable cutlery, dishware and linens.
- Provide centerpieces and decorations that can be reused, such as living plants, or silk flowers.
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In 2001, Ray's Boathouse Restaurant & Cafe in Seattle composted 17 tons of pre-consumer food waste. Ray's also renders cooking oil and donates excess prepared food from banquets to local food banks. (Source) |
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