Reducing food waste

The HUG continue their commitment to reducing food waste, recovering foodstuffs that can still be consumed and reducing losses.

Following an in-depth study carried out between 2023 and 2024 on the returns from meal trays served to hospitalized patients, the Catering Service has adjusted its offer by proposing a more personalized service, particularly for beverages, and by optimizing order-taking to meet patients' needs and preferences as closely as possible. 
 

Two “anti-waste” initiatives for staff were launched in spring 2024: reduced-price surprise baskets and a special end-of-service discount for the self-service evening meal. More than 4,500 meals and some sixty baskets have already been sold thanks to these offers. They complement existing solutions at several sites, such as the sale of surprise baskets via the Too Good To Go app, and are in addition to regular food donations to the Partage food bank and the student association La Farce.

Thanks to these various actions, waste has been reduced by 4% between 2021 and 2024, despite an increase of 100,000 meals between these two years. However, this reduction still falls short of the -30% target set in the 2025 action plan of the sustainability strategy. The work initiated with patients remains an essential lever for stepping up the fight against food waste.