79,000 tons
Food Waste and Food Rescue in Institutional Consumption
According to BDO estimates, on an average day in 2019 (25) approximately 2 million people ate one meal outside the home, equivalent to 690 million meals annually. Approximately 800,000 tons of food is used to prepare these meals.
The value of food used in meals eaten by consumers outside of their homes is estimated to be NIS 14 billion annually, equivalent to approximately 17% of the total expenditure for food in Israel, and approximately 11% of the food consumed in quantitative terms.
The total food wasted in the institutional sector amounts to 240,000 tons annually, representing 30% of institutional food consumption, at a cost of approximately NIS 3.9 billion annually, in addition to an environmental cost of approximately NIS 230 million (26).
Approximately one-third of institutional meals that are wasted are rescuable (27), meaning that it would be possible to save approximately 79,000 tons of food annually, with a total value of approximately NIS 1.3 billion each year, equivalent to approximately 70 million meals.
waste. Despite this, catering cannot be planned on the basis of averages alone; it must provide sufficient food for non-average days as well. This means that catering companies must allow for sufficient margins to accommodate the risk of variance, rather than relying solely on statistical averages.
The analysis in the report shows that, as a general rule, a kitchen characterized by a higher level of uncertainty regarding the number of patrons can be expected to produce a higher level of waste. For example, at open IDF bases and workplaces, where there are accessible alternatives, the food waste will be higher than in schools and prisons, where there is less uncertainty about the number of meals to be served.
Rate of Food Waste by Category of Institutional Consumption
In addition, the more varied the menu, the greater the amount of waste that can be expected due to the uncertainty regarding which choices patrons will prefer. Accordingly, a higher level of waste can be expected at events and in hotels, where a wide variety of choices are offered, rather than workplaces, IDF bases and police stations.
The style of service and who pays for it can also influence the amount of waste. In restaurants, for example, where food is prepared only after it is ordered, less waste is expected than at a buffet where food must be prepared in advance. In situations where the consumer pays only for what is eaten, the amount of waste will be lower than it is in restaurants that charge an all-inclusive price.
The total amount of food that can be rescued from the institutional sector is valued at approximately NIS 1.3 billion. Approximately half of this amount is from events, from which it is likely possible to rescue approximately 23,000 tons of food, with a monetary value of NIS 0.5 billion, annually. Hotels, IDF bases and workplaces are other important focal points for food rescue, and it is likely that approximately NIS 140-190 million worth of food can be rescued annually from each of these sources. The value of rescuable food from restaurants is similar; approximately NIS 130 million, but the broader geographical distribution and the lack of a critical mass in any single location generally reduces the economic feasibility of rescuing food from restaurants.
The high return on investment for food rescue in the institutional sector is a consequence of the relatively high value of the rescued product, combined with the relatively low logistical costs of collecting food from large kitchens with dense geographic distribution, concentrated in city centers and industrial areas.