By: Angelica Dimapindan

Earlier this summer, we helped plan and execute Park People’s bi-annual conference, and to maintain their sustainability mission, we were introduced to a local vendor that works to minimize waste when it comes to catering events.

In honour of International Food Loss and Waste Awareness Day, our team, along with Erika Reyes (Co-Founder of Inwit) wanted to share some suggestions on how to reduce food waste when planning an event. We promise it is easier than you think to start implementing these steps in your planning process.

Break the Cycle of Isolation

Include your vendors and venue in your goal. Build a team of people that can help you work towards reducing food waste. Often, vendors and venues might already have their own process in place, and if not, you can work together on an action plan.

Erika shares that “if your business aims to transition towards a low-carbon future, the journey begins with cultivating a sustainable culture. This culture should encourage everyone to integrate sustainability into their daily office routines and processes. Sharing a delightful, waste-free meal is the most effective way to provide a tangible experience for all, demonstrating the collective power of climate action and emphasizing sustainability as a core organizational value.”

Talk with your venue or caterer and see if they can help you build a menu based on in-season food options and that focus more on plant-based meals. You could even make this a fun experience for your guests by letting them guess the ingredients. This way you can reduce your costs as well as emissions from the transportation and shipping of ingredients.

Hand Over the Power 

Give your guests control over what and how much they eat. We discovered that attendees love to make their own bowls, so you can incorporate deconstructed meal options to add some freedom and fun.

Erika also suggests to “proactively prevent surplus food in the first place” by using a pre-ordering system. Park People adopted the “lunch box approach” through Inwit, allowing them to “gauge and plan the right quantity of food for every attendee, ensuring that there was enough for everyone without generating excess.” We’ve also used this system with other clients and heard positive feedback from the guests that were able to select their preferred meal in advance.

Project Zero (Waste)

Consider partnering with an organization you can donate leftover food to. They could be a good source of ideas on how to reduce food waste at your event, and you would also be contributing positively to the community. 

A fun idea would also be to suggest that the catering service creates a zero-waste menu that makes use of every part of every ingredient. This could make for a very interesting meal! Make sure that your guests are in the know by putting info or fact cards by the dishes–this helps bring awareness to your cause and might help in influencing people’s perception of food and their own actions. Like Inwit, try to partner with vendors that “minimize waste, use recycling and compost programs, and are dedicated to reducing their carbon footprint, and share your commitment to using organic, seasonal, and locally sourced ingredients whenever possible.”

Make Your Guests Team Players

Finally, make your attendees active participants in your cause by sharing stats post-event or even during mealtimes–leverage screens to showcase the results of the proposed menu. At the Park People Conference earlier this year, “the cornerstone of achieving a sustainability goal lied in guest participation. After savouring their meals, guests eagerly returned their containers to our collection station, actively contributing to closing the sustainability loop. It felt like collectively healing the planet one bite at a time.” Erika says that the “real magic happens when team members play their part”, so make your guests part of your sustainability team!

As you can see, we all have the power to be catalysts for change. Reducing food waste does not necessarily mean providing less quality or falling short of people’s expectations. You can still make it a fun and unique experience for your guests.

Take a look below for the environmental impact we achieved at the Park People Conference by using Inwit as our lunch caterer.

To read more about The Park People Conference 2023, check out the case study HERE. And to schedule a time to chat about your own event sustainability initiatives, just reach out to our team at [email protected]!

ABOUT INWIT

Inwit is a pioneer in Canada’s reusable packaging industry over the last two years. In 2021, Inwit ranked among the top 15 solutions worldwide building low-carbon cities by the Circular City Challenge. They provide catering services by partnering with restaurants that fit with their sustainability mission while providing unique and authentic flavours that cater to dietary services.

Learn more about Inwit and practical strategies on how to achieve waste-free meals HERE, Erika is also reachable through email [email protected].