More than 10 hotels and restaurants in Noakhali will now record how much food they waste each day and display the figures to diners. Restaurant representatives announced the step at a meeting in Maijdee on Thursday, 1 October, held for the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, Channel i Online reported.
The food security network Khani Bangladesh and the Participatory Research and Action Network (PRAN) organised the meeting, under this year's theme of the transformative potential of reducing food loss and waste. At the end the restaurants received Food Waste posters and table stands on which to write down how many kilograms were wasted the previous day and so far that month.
Restaurant representatives said diners often order more than they need and do not take leftovers home. Waste is highest at Bengali-food hotels, where few customers take parcels. These establishments throw away about 50 kg of food a day or more, the meeting heard.
Proposals to cut waste included letting customers order the portion they need, warning them on the spot when they over-order, training waiters and displaying awareness messages. Participants also stressed storing surplus food and getting it to people who go hungry.
Noakhali district food safety officer Sumadhu Chakraborty said law enforcement alone cannot reduce food waste; children must learn from an early age to value food and eat what they need. Md Aminuzzaman, executive director of the development organisation Bandhan, also urged awareness from childhood.
Khani Bangladesh's keynote said food insecurity remains a serious reality in Bangladesh even as output grows. By the UN Food Waste Index 2024, each person in Bangladesh wastes 82 kg of food a year, along with the water, energy and labour used to produce it. The organisers hope that seeing the waste figures will make diners think about how much they order.
Source: Channel i Online
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