Food Waste in Restaurants and Weddings

How much food is wasted in restaurants, buffets and weddings, why it happens, and how food banks and better planning reduce waste.

Large amounts of food are wasted in eating out.

Scale

The UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024 estimated that Indian households waste around 55 kg of food per person a year, and food service adds more waste.

Where waste happens

Buffets: people take more than they eat.
Weddings: hosts over-cater to avoid running short, a matter of prestige.
Restaurants: over-preparation and large portions.

Why

Uncertainty about demand.
Social norms: running out of food is seen as shameful.
Low cost of wasting relative to the risk of shortage.

Environmental cost

Wasted food wastes water, land and energy, and creates methane in landfills.

Solutions

Food banks and groups like Robin Hood Army and Feeding India redistribute surplus food to the needy.
Smaller portions and plate sizes.
Better forecasting.
Guidelines for weddings; some states have discussed limits on guests or dishes.

FSSAI’s role

FSSAI’s Save Food Share Food initiative supports safe food donation.

The wedding leftovers

After a big wedding, volunteers from a food rescue group collect untouched trays of food and distribute them to a shelter the same night.

Thinking food waste is only a household problem

Restaurants, buffets and weddings waste large amounts too.

Key takeaways

Food service and households waste large amounts of food.
Buffets and weddings over-cater due to norms and uncertainty.
Waste has environmental costs.
Food banks and better planning reduce waste.