4 Ways Your Event Caterer Can Be Sustainable At Your Event

Sustainability is a buzz word these days, with Climate Change happening at such a rapid rate as a society we are becoming more aware of the impact we are having on the environment, we have become such a throw away society buying every we need, not reusing things and buying cheaper quality items that get little use.

The rise of groups like Extinction Rebellion and the importance of individuals like Greta Thunberg having a voice is pushing us beyond just reusable shopping bags at the supermarket.

At home we are all being a bit more conscious about what waste we are producing, we are composting, reusing water, recycling and shopping for preowned items rather than buying new.

With the emergence of the side hustle revolution where we can make a little money on the side more and more of us are selling things on sites like Ebay and Facebook.

Even Dropping things at the charity shop is easier with clothes banks now found next to the recycling bins in supermarket car parks.

Sustainability should be no different for a Mobile Caterer, every business should look at their processes with the environment in mind to minimise waste and cut down their impact on the wider world and this should be no different for Mobile Caterers.

Now, becoming 100% Sustainable may take time and money and we cannot expect that everyone can just change everything for the cause for example at The Food Van we have old diesel vans and to make these electrically powered would take a lot of money and time but because we cannot change that right now it doesn't stop us focusing on easy wins and looking for ways we can make an impact.

As an Event Organiser do some research on your caterers and don't be afraid to ask questions on their practices and make suggestions if you would like a green alternative at your event.

All Mobile Caterers will use a Supplier at some stage, it might be that they are able to grow some of their ingredients themselves but its unlikely they would be able to make everything they need without using a supplier of some sort.

Being Sustainable as a business covers both processes and goods being produced so there is really no excuse when it comes to being green as a supplier.

There are Industry Standards found on products being sold at Wholesalers, the Red Tractor Assurance provides a set of Standards covering Animal Welfare, Food Safety, Traceability and Environmental Protection ensuring all food is Traceable, Safe To Eat and has been Produced Responsibly and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sets a Standard for Sustainable Fishing.

A Mobile Caterer using Burgers could purchase burgers from a local Sustainable Farmer or buy Red Tractor Assured Burgers from a Wholesaler, A Fish and Chip Van can buy Fish with a MSC standard from a Fish Wholesaler and A Pizza Caterer could buy vegetables from a local supplier.

If there are Industry Standards then it's more than likely that the biggest wholesalers will adhere to these practices.

Noone likes Food Waste!

There are a number of ways a Mobile Caterer can cut down on Food Waste in the course of their business and ways you as an Event Organiser can affect the level of Food Waste Produced.

It may be enticing to select a caterer with a a wide and varied menu where your guests can select any variation but remember that by not giving a Mobile Caterer exact selections by guest numbers you are simply encouraging a Mobile Caterer to transport and cook more products and potentially throw in the bin anything not used.

Selecting a smaller menu with less items will prevent this happening, you may wish to ask your Mobile Caterer which items are more popular if you are unsure what to select rather than what you think people will eat they will be the ones with the experience of working at events and can advise you accordingly.

At The Hungry Plaice we primarily work at prepaid events this helps us work out exactly what ingredients and materials we need and for some items we use the just-in-time method to buy supplies as and when required rather than hold large stocks of items that could go off or have quality issues.

So giving guests numbers to your Mobile Caterers helps us tremendously, we can then cook according to the crowd on the day to ensure we don't overcook our food.

What about the leftovers and what can be done with those?

If we have leftover cooked food we always offer seconds to guests, if we are working on someone's house the host often asks if they can take leftover food themselves and we always oblige. Should we have any leftover ingredients we manage these within Food Safety procedures and keep for future events wherever possible.

Certain foods can be donated to useful causes, there are local Charities such as Fareshareand TrusellTrust, Food Banks and Supermarket Food Collection Points that work in much the same way who are all organisations who would appreciate donations of food across the UK.

Ask your Mobile Caterer about their business policies and how they minimise their Food Waste so that you can make an informed choice at your event.

Oil is used by a large proportion of Mobile Caterers particularly where food is being fried such as a Fish and Chip Van.

Disposal of Used Cooking Oil is regulated and this must be disposed of safely and legally, there are a number of organisations that collect Waste Oil and turn this into bio-fuel and a Mobile Caterer can be given money when they use such services.

So there is really no excuse on this on.....

The final way in which a Mobile Caterer can be sustainable is the way Packaging Materials are handled.

Straight away a Mobile Caterer can make a difference on the Food Packaging they use in the course of serving at an event.

Look for the Mobile Caterers that use Wooden Cutlery rather than plastic and trays or boxes that can be recycled or composted, ask for your Mobile Caterer to serve on environmentally friendly items there are so many available which are reasonably priced, there is no excuse for using any plastic items when serving at an event these days.

Disposing our Supplier Food Packaging responsibly as a Mobile Caterer is an easy win, wholesalers offer Cardboard Recycling at drop off points and there are Commercial Recycling units readily available at Event Venues.

As for plastic and the issues around this we would all like to say we are 100% Plastic Free however as Mobile Caterers we are bound by the packaging that has been provided by Suppliers who may be working to eradicate this problem, in the meantime we should keep awareness of the issue and cut down and reuse plastic wherever we can.

Do you research on Mobile Caterers to select those who are acting in a Sustainable manner within their business and remember that you can do your bit as an Event Organiser to make sure your Event is Green and kind to the environment.