Food Waste in Event Catering: A Case Study in Higher Education

ABSTRACT The higher education sector provides catering services for a significant number of internal and external meetings, conferences, and other events. Recent studies suggest that event catering is a significant generator of food waste. This research has two main aims: (a) to understand how leftover food in catered meetings or events is generated; and (b) describe how environmental factors and the person ordering catering service influence it. Combining physical waste measures with a survey to event organizers this work quantifies food waste generated events at a University in the Northeast of England. We find there are significant differences in the average waste across venues and key food categories. Regarding the impact of the person ordering food, the results suggest that experienced event organizers significantly waste, on average, around eleven percent less food.