Success Stories

Food

Business: Central Oregon Council on Aging (Bend)

Number of Employees: 3

Vignette

Central Oregon Council on Aging operates a senior lunch program at the Bend Senior Center.

• It was observed that many clients would not eat their roll because they were too full. Historically, rolls were placed on every client's plate along with all other foods. Now, staff try to circulate among the clients with the rolls in a basket; those clients who want a roll are given one, while others can choose to pass. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $450/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,500 rolls (312 pounds)/year.
• Paying closer attention to the amount of food left over (unserved) after each meal and adjusting orders for the off-site kitchen reduced entree waste by 50% and side dish waste by 25%. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $990/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,200 pounds/year.
• Soup is served once a week. The kitchen switched to reusable (washable) bowls for soup for sit-down clients (previously, disposable polystyrene bowls were used). Disposable bowls (with lids) are still used for the meals-on-wheels program. The reusable bowls are washed, along with other dishes, in the on-site commercial dishwasher. Additional water, energy, and detergent costs total a mere $6/year. It requires an additional 5 minutes of volunteer time per week to wash these extra dishes. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $45/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 2,600 polystyrene bowls/year.
• Removed 25% to 50% of the lamps in the manager’s office and kitchen, which were both perceived as being "overlit". FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $30/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 650 kWh/year.

Case Study

None

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Business: Fred Meyer Baking Plant (Clackamas)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• Identified and corrected water leaks and drips totaling 709,000 gallons per year. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $3,280/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 1,772 therms (natural gas) and 709,000 gallons (water)/year.
• Changed the packing procedure for bear claws and other pastries. Previously, packing staff had not always had enough time to switch packaging types when production shifted from one product to another. For example, at the end of a batch of bear claws, staff would need to move the packaged bear claws out of the packing area and prepare to package the next product. Insufficient time to make the switch meant that the last products in any given batch were often trashed. By increasing the time between product lines (at the packing end) by three minutes, this problem was largely eliminated. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 12,480 pounds/year.

Case Study

None

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Business: A grocery store

Number of Employees: 60

Vignette

This independent grocery store features an on-site bakery. Staff tracked how many of each type of baked good were not sold at the end of the day, and found that certain items were consistently being over-produced. By changing the quantities of each item baked to better reflect customer demand, the bakery reduced "shrink" (unsold product) by roughly 50%. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: $23,000/year. RESOURCE SAVINGS: 13,000 pounds of baked goods/year.

Case Study

None

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Business: Local Scoop (Cannon Beach)

Number of Employees: 8

Vignette

This restaurant serves a bag of potato chips with most sandwiches. By watching "plate waste," it discovered that its portions of potato chips were generally too large, and a lot of chips were being thrown out. The restaurant switched to a slightly smaller bag of chips. FINANCIAL SAVINGS: more than $4,500/year.

Case Study

None

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Business: Murray Hill Thriftway (Beaverton)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• Cleaning supplies are purchased from a company that takes back empty cleaning fluid bottles and refills them.
• Unsold produce is set aside for Centro Cultural, a center for migrant farm workers. The program benefits the needy and saves the store about $6,000/year in disposal bills while also providing a tax deduction.

Case Study

• Call Metro, 503-234-3000.

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Business: North Plains Elementary School (North Plains)

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

North Plains Elementary School implemented a "food choice" program in the school cafeteria. Previously, all hot-lunch eaters were given a tray with the same food. The school made four significant changes:

• Provided two or three entrees to choose from each day.
• Introduced child-size "self service bars" stocked with uncooked fruits and vegetables and bread products.
• Allowed students to accept or decline other hot foods (cooked vegetables).
• Observed foods thrown out and revised ordering and production amounts.

Average participation in the meal program increased from 61-73% while the average cost of food per meal dropped from $0.85 to $0.71. Food discarded per tray dropped 47%, and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables increased significantly.

A simplified version of this food choice program was also implemented at Charles F. Tigard and Metzger Elementary Schools in the Tigard-Tualatin School District.

Case Study

• Call Metro, 503-234-3000.

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Business: United Grocers

Number of Employees: unknown

Vignette

• Member stores of the United Grocers cooperative routinely return unsold produce to the warehouse. Most is edible. The warehouse used to pay a hefty bill to landfill this material until the produce manager invited restaurant buyers to bargain for it each morning. The result: big savings for United Grocers and the restaurants.
• Whole pallets have always been sent to a repair service for reconditioning.
• Pieces of pallets are placed in wood waste totes placed around the warehouse. The scrap wood is then consolidated in a drop box which is collected by a private company who uses the wood scraps to repair other pallets.

Case Study

• Call Metro, 503-234-3000.

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