Compass Group North America Leads Fight Against Food Waste

Stop Food Waste Day Founders Celebrate 7^th Annual Event on April 26

CHARLOTTE, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#FoodWaste–With the fight against food waste more important than ever, Compass Group, the world’s largest food and support services company, continues to elevate its efforts to address this global issue that contributes 8-10%* of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions each year.

In 2017, Compass Group launched Stop Food Waste Day to raise awareness of the food waste problem and to inspire change. Understanding the importance of making an impact, the company will again mark Stop Food Waste Day on April 26^th and has organized even more activities to spotlight the environmental and social benefits that come from reducing food waste. Food waste is the number one item found in landfills based on volume and research shows Americans waste $218 billion worth of food annually.

“Now in its seventh year, Stop Food Waste Day has expanded beyond just an annual event held on the last Wednesday of April. It’s become a global movement, and a core part of our culture at Compass Group. Our chefs and frontline teams understand the opportunity we have as the world’s largest foodservice group to empower the communities we serve with knowledge, tips, and tricks to reduce food waste; not only in our cafes but in their homes and beyond,” said Amy Keister, Global Director of Sustainability, Compass Group. “No one ever has the intention to waste food, which is why at Compass we strive to make every day Stop Food Waste Day. By shining a light on this issue, and tackling it together, we can make a meaningful impact on our global food system.”

Last year, across the U.S., Compass Group donated more than 760,000 meals to local communities and recorded a 31% reduction last year in its own food waste. The company remains on track to achieve its target to halve food waste within its global operations by 2030.

This year, Compass Group is hosting SFWD LIVE, an event at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Ore. in partnership with Levy, that will bring together hundreds of people including civic leaders, community focused organizations and local entrepreneurs focused on reducing food waste throughout the city. Open to the public, this signature event will feature engaging speakers, inspired experts and a sampling of foods and beverages from local and artisanal producers. SFWD LIVE will close the event with all attendees making a pledge to “Make Every Day Stop Food Waste Day.”

“Stop Food Waste Day is so important because it’s a chance to remind people about the negative impacts of food waste and let them know that this is a problem that we really can solve if we work together,” said Dana Gunders, Executive Director, ReFed, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending food loss and waste. “It doesn’t matter if you are cooking at home or cooking for hundreds or thousands, everyone should be extremely mindful of the amount of time, resources and care that it takes to create delicious meals and commit to using food as wisely as we can. That’s how we’re going to make progress and address one of the greatest challenges our food system faces today.”

Working collaboratively with clients, colleagues, suppliers, and nonprofit partners across nearly 40 countries, Compass Group continues to lead a global movement focused on preventing food waste at the source and redistributing surplus food in local communities, while inspiring others – through its own actions, experience, and practical advice – to waste less. Other Stop Food Waste Day activities across the country, include:

• Bon Appétit Management Company is hosting “Use It Twice,” a nationwide digital and in-person activation designed to showcase a long-held passion for fighting food waste. “Use It Twice” will feature Bon Appétit chefs’ techniques for reducing food waste at home by creatively using ingredients twice. For example, using the whole lemon in a dessert or apple cores to make vinegar. Activities will take place throughout the week, encouraging guests to learn more at interactive culinary demos and classes and through sampling food waste-fighting recipes that let a single ingredient do double duty.
• The Chartwells Higher Education team at New York University (NYU Eats) is hosting a variety of sustainability events for Earth Month. Hundreds of students are expected to participate in scheduled events including a Teaching Kitchen focused creating a zero-waste dish, banana bread and banana peel bacon, a Farmers Market highlighting meal prepping strategies, and a Weigh Your Food Waste event at two dining locations.
• The Morrison Healthcare team at the Hackensack Meridian Health System will feature Chef Tables using Compass Group’s Stop Food Waste Day Cookbook. Across the Prisma Health System, teams will display Stop Food Waste Pledge boards in all cafés for customers to write down what actions they will take to reduce food waste. In addition, at Upstate Medical University, a Stop Food Waste Day Information Station will be set up where hospital staff, patients, and visitors can learn more about and pledge their commitment to reducing food waste, and test their knowledge in the Waste Warrior Game.
• Chartwells K12 is celebrating Stop Food Waste Day at Hitchcock Independent School District in Texas with a Discovery Kitchen chef demonstration and tasting. Featuring a root-to-stem Broccoli Slaw recipe that uses the whole broccoli, the team is teaching kids how to keep as much food from the trash as possible and ways they can bring the fight against food waste home to their families as well.
• From hosting roundtable events at large financial institutions on how reducing food waste helps reach climate change goals to chefs featuring root-to-stem and zero-waste recipes such as “Recoup Soup”, Restaurant Associates is encouraging guests and partners to stop food waste.

Following the success of the first Stop Food Waste Day Cookbook last year, Compass Group has also created a new extended edition of the digital cookbook featuring recipes from 54 Compass chefs across 37 countries. On a mission to inspire home cooks and professional chefs around the world, the cookbook makes it easy to create meals which give a second life to ingredients that most commonly go to waste. New recipes this year include Cauliflower Tikka Masala that utilizes the full cauliflower and Roasted Carrots with Greek Yogurt Labneh.

Compass recognizes Stop Food Waste Day every year on the last Wednesday of April. Visit the Stop Food Waste Day website for more information: https://www.stopfoodwasteday.com

About Compass Group North America

Compass Group is redefining the food and facility services landscape with innovation and passion through the lens of what’s next. Serving premier healthcare systems, respected educational institutions, world-renowned cultural centers, popular sporting and entertainment venues, and Fortune 500 organizations, Compass Group always finds a way to deliver excellence in nearly any vertical. Ranked No. 1 by industry peers on Fortune’s 2023 list of World’s Most Admired Companies, Compass has also earned a spot on Newsweek’s 2023 lists of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity and America’s Most Trustworthy Companies and is among the Top 50 Companies Changing the World according to Fortune. Learn more about the Compass experience at www.compass-usa.com.

Contacts

 Lisa Claybon, Compass Group, lisa.claybon@compass-usa.com