You know who needs food? Everyone. After all, it is almost impossible to survive without it. 

To some people food can be transformational; it can be more than just a meal or service. 

To some others, their love of food has spread all the way from the farm, to the fork, and then into the bin.

Food and food waste is hugely important in the Meetings & Events industry. Most events have a food element; it might be just tea, coffee and a piece of fruit, or delegate meals for a large-scale multi-day event, right through to the grand and sumptuous awards dinners that are so popular. Undoubtedly, food and, more importantly, food waste is part of our industry.

Food waste occurs along the entire spectrum of production - from the farm, to distributors, to retailers to the consumers. Reasons include losses from mould, pests, or inadequate climate control; losses from cooking; and intentional food waste. This waste is categorised based on where it happens:

- Food loss occurs before the food reaches the consumer due to issues in the production, storage, processing, and distribution stages.

- Food waste occurs when food that is fit for consumption is consciously discarded at the retail or consumption stages.

In the UK, over 3.6 million tonnes of food is wasted by businesses involved in the supply of food - everyone from farmers and growers, to manufacturers and processors, to wholesalers, retailers and food service companies.

Reducing food waste is not a waste of time. The task of getting the message about the challenge should be as important as tackling food waste itself. Over the years, people have been encouraged to adopt sustainable practices to prevent food waste. But what does it mean? How can the MICE industry promote sustainability through food?

Lime Venue Portfolio, which is part of global caterer Compass Group, is one of the country’s biggest and most respected collections of venues supported by a variety of large-scale catering offerings that takes food very seriously. Recently, Lime Venue Portfolio has boosted its commitments to sustainable practices across its business and, working with its sister companies, Levy UK & Ireland and Restaurant Associates, have become part of a commitment for genuine change. The brand has expressed its love for food but hate for waste by going on a journey to prevent food waste.

A few years ago, Lime Venue Portfolio talked about #FORO, fear of running out, and the need for people in the meetings industry to work with delegates to manage expectations around food, to reduce food waste. We can all do more to encourage portion control and get our numbers right when looking at feeding many people.

However, for Lime Venue Portfolio, the real change is at the other end of the spectrum - sourcing. Hence, the birth of “Meetings for Change”.

 So, what is Meetings for Change?

According to Lime Venue Portfolio, Meetings for Change is the outcome of years of research on food, waste, sourcing and the meetings and events industry, grounded in a series of commitments to all customers. Meetings for Change is Lime Venue Portfolio's commitment to sustainability - by eating with them, customers become part of a virtuous circle that will not only contribute to Lime Venue Portfolio’s sustainability goals, but theirs too. For event planners, it means that a booking through Lime Venue Portfolio not only comes with key promises around the brand’s Menu for Change, but also a series of pledges ‘as standard’, that allows them to reach their own sustainability goals.

The fact is, people want to do the right thing, and they are rewarded emotionally when they do good.

The initiative also seeks to change the way food is sourced globally and puts pressure on those within the food industry to do more, and to do better.

According to Lime Venue Portfolio, the commitments are outlined as follows:

We believe in using fresh, seasonal products

- We aim that 80% of ingredients on our menus are to be British grown. All the chicken and milk we serve is Red Tractor assured. 

We believe in the power of plants

- Our menus are always plant-forward, with a choice of great-tasting alternative proteins.

We believe in zero waste

- Whatever we’re cooking for your meeting or event, our approach is root-to-stem, nose-to-tail. We use recycled and reusable packaging wherever we can.

We believe in ethical sourcing

- Our teas and coffees come from responsible suppliers. Our chocolate is Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance certified

We believe in protecting our planet

- Our climate promise is to reach Net Zero by 2030.

To put it more succinctly, Meetings for Change is a sustainability initiative that supports event planner’s commitments to ‘meeting green’ through food, and they are inviting customers and event planners to join in the crusade. 

When it’s all said and done, you know who needs to love food but hate waste? Everyone.

Also, as part of their commitment to promoting sustainability, Lime Venue Portfolio has recently achieved Green Accreditation for all their 82 venues listed on venuedirectory.com. This achievement is shown on venuedirectory.com as well as on the GRATIS platform making it easy for meeting planners to search for and find venues where they can “meet Green”.

Even with more conscious food sourcing and portion control, it is inevitable that some waste will be unavoidable but it is great to see brands like Lime Venue Portfolio making progress towards eliminating food waste and reaching Net Zero by 2030. Indeed, more people need to take up the challenge of spreading awareness about and fighting food waste. More venues need to actively show their commitment to sustainability by achieving Green Accreditation. One day we will all celebrate “meeting Green”; the journey has already begun.