The Goodstart Early Learning centre in Taree has been an active partner in the MidWaste Your Business is Food (YBIF) program, exploring how to reduce food waste in a busy children's centre.
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YBIF, designed by the NSW Environmental Protection Authority's (EPA) Love Food Hate Waste program, allows staff to make the most of the food they buy while reducing their costs and helping the environment.
The program is assisting local food related businesses including clubs, pubs, aged care, and early learning facilities in the MidWaste region with reducing their food waste through the EPA's Your Business is Food program.
Goodstart have been YBIF champions and have got their staff actively participating in the program and reduced overall food waste by more than 85 per cent.
"The MidWaste Your Business is Food program has really helped us to stop and measure exactly where we are wasting food and make improvements so that we can make much better use of the food we buy while saving money and helping the environment. The staff have got actively involved and we are getting positive feedback from our families," head centre cook, Jodi Moore said.
The YBIF program involves working with a project officer for free support and a kit with handy resources to assist the food business explore the causes of food waste and implement simple actions to reduce this.
The business completes an initial food waste review to work out where most food is being wasted (during preparation, storage or from plates) and then undertakes take two or three actions to reduce food waste and then completes a follow-up review to measure success.
If you are interested in finding out more about the YBIF program visit www.midwaste.org.au/your-business-is-food.
This project is supported by NSW EPA as part of Waste Less, Recycle More, funded from the waste levy.