Written by Office of Sustainability student associate, Faith Phillips, Class of 2024
Leanpath is a food waste prevention technology system that measures food waste and encourages food waste prevention in commercial kitchens worldwide. Leanpath believes that front line food service workers are the first domino in creating real change by challenging the global food waste issue and maintaining sustainable food practices on a large scale.
This April, WashU implemented Leanpath technology to track and minimize food waste in the DUC Dining Hall, Village Cafe, and the Bear’s Den. Chef John Klipp at The Bears Den started implementation of Leanpath at the three dining halls. According to Chef John, the system was relatively easy to launch through online staff training.
Leanpath separates their waste solutions technology into three categories: track, discover, and drive. First, users choose from Leanpath’s line of kitchen trackers designed to match each kitchen’s specific needs. Secondly, the data is converted into the analytics-based dashboard that provides a 360-degree view of what each kitchen is wasting and why. Lastly, the technology drives results with prevention tools that include goal setting and alerts. These alerts notify chefs and managers when high priority waste items have been recorded by the Leanpath trackers.
The process for using the system in dining halls is straightforward. During a shift, dining employees can measure and track their food waste produced, such as through peeling or chopping vegetables. After finishing a task or at the end of each shift, dining employees can take their food waste to the Leanpath scales. After logging into Leanpath, the dining employee can tag their food waste, such as vegetable food waste, and weigh their total waste. That data is then transformed into metrics, including money savings and food waste opportunities to be addressed. A weekly food waste report is then sent out to location managers every Monday with the most salient data to create action plans to tackle waste.
Leanpath is a powerful tool, empowering dining staff by offering specific, localized actions to reduce food waste and supports WashU in achieving cost savings and sustainability targets. Campus dining faces the particular challenge of avoiding overproduction while simultaneously providing wholesome meals for thousands of students. WashU’s implementation of Leanpath technology is just another milestone in the University’s journey towards sustainable dining practices and food waste management.