NEW ZEALAND | Aged care providers can lose food before it reaches a resident’s plate, as well as after a meal is served. Both add to kitchen costs, but reducing waste requires care: ordering less or serving smaller portions must still leave residents with enough food they want to eat.
A New Zealand study published in August has measured what happened when 14 aged residential care sites made changes across their food services. At the start of the University of Otago trial, the homes wasted an average of 347 grams of food per resident each day. After 24 weeks, the figure was 252 grams, a reduction of 26 percent.
The study counted food discarded during preparation and service alongside food left on plates. That distinction matters to operators. A kitchen that measures only what residents leave behind may miss meals prepared but never served, excess production, or ingredients lost before service.
The participating homes chose which measures to introduce from a toolkit developed with aged care staff. Researchers supported the sites during an initial 12-week period, then measured waste again after that support ended. The reduction was maintained at the 24-week measurement, although the study does not show whether it would persist over a longer period.
Food Science PhD candidate Elena Piere led the work with researchers from Otago. The resulting Waste Less, Care More toolkit gives providers guidance on auditing waste and making changes through menu planning, purchasing, preparation, and service. Measures described by Otago include showing residents photographs of menu choices and allowing them to select their preferred portion size.
Resident choice is more than a dining room consideration. When staff know which dishes are repeatedly left uneaten, that information can inform menus and quantities before the next order is placed. Care staff and kitchen teams each see a different part of the problem, so their observations need to meet somewhere in the planning process.
Research from Australia has also pointed to a gap in how aged care waste is measured. A review of 33 sources found that studies most often examined plate waste, while preparation and spoilage received less attention. It identified few studies that had tested ways to reduce waste. The Otago trial adds evidence from New Zealand homes, though it does not establish which individual change delivered the greatest saving.
The study reports a reduction in the weight of food discarded, rather than a dollar saving per resident. Providers applying the findings would need to measure their own purchasing and disposal costs while watching meal intake and resident feedback. A lower waste figure is useful only if residents continue to eat well.
Readers can access the Waste Less, Care More toolkit through the Retirement Villages Association.
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