ReFED’s data shows that more than 8.2 million tons of food went unsold or uneaten in full and limited service restaurants in 2023. Food waste in the fast-paced restaurant industry has traditionally been seen as an unavoidable expense, but in reality, wasted food means wasted money, lost efficiency, and missed opportunities to enhance guest experience.

In 2023, ReFED launched an Open Call through its Catalytic Grant Fund to uncover and scale solutions to address wasted food in restaurants with support from its anchor funder Toast.org. After reviewing nearly 100 applications from organizations across the globe, six grantees were selected and received catalytic grant funding to help them grow their impact in transforming food waste from a financial burden to an opportunity for restaurants across the nation.

Now, ReFED and Toast.org collaborated again to publish a white paper that features insights from the 2023 Restaurant Open Call and provides an overview of how grantees are offering solutions tailored to four common restaurant scenarios: The Fine Dining Establishment, The Establishment with Multiple Locations, The Local Establishment Wanting to Give Back, and The Establishment Navigating Organic Waste Bans.

For each restaurant scenario, the white paper identifies unique challenges that lead to food waste and then highlights one of the Catalytic Grant Fund grantees whose solution helps to address these challenges. Food waste doesn’t have to be an unavoidable cost for restaurants—use this white paper to learn what you can do today to reduce wasted food and help your bottom line.

Read the white paper. To learn more about ReFED’s Catalytic Grant Fund and how you can get involved as a funder or grantee, reach out to Angel Veza. To stay up-to-date on future Catalytic Grant Fund announcements, sign up for our mailing list.