Re-Launching Our Internal Food Recovery Guide
We’re proud to introduce our new Internal Food Recovery Guide, a practical resource created to help our general managers and chefs nationwide launch and sustain impactful food recovery programs. This step-by-step guide covers everything from identifying surplus food to building partnerships with local nonprofits that safely redistribute meals to our communities. The guide reinforces our companywide commitment to donating wholesome, excess food at every site while aligning with evolving state legislation on food recovery and landfill diversion. Together, these efforts move us closer to building a food system that supports well-being for all.
In our role as a national foodservice provider, we prepare millions of meals every year—meals that nourish, bring communities together, and support well-being for people and planet. But with that scale comes the importance of managing surplus food thoughtfully and ensuring that as little as possible goes to waste.
To do so, we take a holistic approach to food waste. We follow the EPA’s Wasted Food Scale, which means that the best thing we can do with excess food is prevent it from happening in the first place. Prevention means planning production wisely, improving inventory management, and training staff to reduce overproduction. But when surplus does occur, the next best action is to donate wholesome, safe, excess food to our communities. Food recovery programs are a win-win: they support organizations that are doing vital work to combat food insecurity and help to ensure that excess edible food does not go to waste.
To support effective food recovery programs across our accounts, our new Internal Food Recovery Guide walks through every step of launching a program, from identifying recoverable surplus food, to connecting with local nonprofit partners and training staff. But this work isn’t just operational—it’s also grounded in a larger environmental and social mission happening across the United States.
Policy That’s Pushing Us Forward
In addition to fulfilling our internal commitment for food recovery, food recovery is also becoming a compliance imperative across the United States. States like California are leading the way with legislation such as SB 1383, which sets requirements for surplus food donation and landfill diversion. Other states are following suit, and we expect these regulations to expand and improve over the years.
Through California’s SB 1383 implementation, we have seen firsthand how legislation can help bolster and improve the state’s food recovery infrastructure, helping to support our own companywide food recovery goals in tandem with state goals. Our new guide helps teams meet state requirements with confidence and shows how aligning public-private partnerships and goals can go a long way in making change. As landfill diversion and food recovery laws expand, we hope to see a primary focus on reducing food waste—alongside efforts to strengthen recovery networks through community investment and infrastructure support.
There’s Always More Work To Do
While donating surplus food is one important way we can support our communities, we also recognize that it’s not where the work ends. Our communities deserve consistent access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally meaningful food. While food recovery may address the symptoms of food insecurity, it does not address the root causes.
That’s why it’s equally important to support broader efforts that improve economic opportunity, and partner with organizations working toward long-term solutions. For our operators starting or improving their food recovery programs, this means working to find a need within the community they are based in and lending a hand where they can.
In the Guide, we highlight existing partnerships that do just this, such as one account’s partnership with a local organization who provides meal programs, emergency shelter, and addiction recovery programs for their community. The Bon Appetit team formed a strong and trusted partnership with this organization, and their work extends beyond donating food: they have donated equipment, prepare and serve catered meals at the organization twice a month, and have hired individuals who have gone through the organization’s training program. All of their actions work to support the ultimate goal of helping individuals leave houselessness permanently and improve dignity and equity in our communities.
What’s Next
Overall, this new guide aims to empower Bon Appetit teams to deepen their impact locally. Together, we can build a foodservice model that is aligned with the values of stewardship and community care. If you’re a general manager or chef in our organization, we invite you to review the guide, reach out for support, and take the next step in your food recovery journey.