By working with venue staff your celebration will be a success without excess.
When planning a special occasion or a celebration, choose a restaurant, function centre or venue that considers food waste, and reduces it where possible. By working closely with caterers and event staff, your celebration will be a success without the excess!
You can avoid food waste at your larger function by:
- planning food volumes with your caterer. Make them aware of your concerns and together you will be able to minimise the amount of food wasted
- considering a buffet – guests will only take what they need, and leftovers can then be provided to organised charities such as SecondBite, FareShare, Oz Harvest or Food Bank or other organisations that support the homeless by distributing surplus food
- organising any leftovers to be composted
- asking whether the venue uses organic or locally sourced produce – you can even point them towards a producer you may know of in close proximity to the venue
- sourcing lower environmental impact food choices, for example, you can use the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Sustainable Seafood Guide
- There are times in restaurants when we order too much food and can’t finish what is on our plate. Why not ask if you can take the remainder of the meal home in a container? This may mean that the rest of your meal doesn’t end up in the bin.
It is the decision of each individual restaurant as to whether they will allow you to take the remainder home. If you can take it home, it will be your responsibility to store and handle the food taken away from the restaurant safely.
The NSW Food Authority suggests the following precautions when taking food home from a restaurant:
- eat unrefrigerated food within two hours
- refrigerate food to below five degrees Celsius as soon as possible
- separate raw and cooked food
- reheat refrigerated food until it is steaming hot
- clean your hands, kitchen and utensils