As event planners and caterers strive to minimize food waste at weddings, festivals, and business meetings throughout the islands, Hawai‘i’s event industry on O‘ahu is adopting a more sustainable approach to hospitality.
Local event planners claim that reducing waste has become a crucial component of organizing successful events, from carefully tracking guest attendance to donating leftover food to some of Hawai‘i’s food banks. Many in the industry think Hawai‘i is making progress through careful planning and community partnerships, even if accomplishing totally zero-waste gatherings is still difficult.
Food waste frequently decreases since leftovers are often shared among attendees, employees, or clients after events, as stated by Vinka Boediman, business development and analytics manager at Gourmet Events Hawaii. According to Boediman, Hawai‘i has such a family-oriented spirit that many individuals try to feed attendees and encourage them to bring some food home.
“I don’t see a big food waste problem here in Hawai‘i, because there’s always someone willing to take home, if not staff, attendees of the event, or even the host,” Boediman said.
Boediman emphasized that many parties are organized around estimated serving ratios to prevent excessive leftovers, particularly since their more luxurious events are held in a smaller venue, usually for 50 to 100 people. To determine how much food should be prepared, chefs and planners rely on guest counts, menu choices, and prior experience.
Larger events can still create challenges, though. Caterers often have to prepare extra food for festivals and events in order to guarantee that every guest is served, even in the event of a sudden shift in attendance, whether that be guests dropping out or more guests attending than anticipated.
“There’s no way they are making, for example, 400, on the dot,” Boediman said. “They always make extras for anything just in case.”
Overpreparing food is an everyday occurrence in hospitality and event planning, according to industry experts and workers, because organizers want to avoid running out of meals during important events. Meetings Today states that in order to cut down on excessive waste while retaining high standards of hospitality, many event professionals are now focusing on strategies like improved visitor tracking, food donation partnerships, and composting programs.
From this, many event teams monitor how much food leaves the kitchen and what is left over after the event, rather than using formal waste-measurement techniques. According to Boediman, the majority of drinks and unopened goods that aren’t taken by the hosts or attendees are kept rather than being thrown away, which helps cut down on unnecessary waste.
In addition, many organizations are focusing on food donation programs. During Spam Jam events, unpurchased food was donated to some of Hawai‘i’s food banks, and Boediman recalled previous partnerships with local food banks as well. These collaborations show a rising interest in sustainability within the hospitality industry.
Reducing food waste often starts with knowing guests’ dietary requirements and preferences, according to Amanda Reese, events and marketing manager for TIM Events & Marketing and instructor for TIM 316 and 469N.
“We have our staff observe the group, and from there we learn our clientele, trying to see what they like and don’t like,” Reese said.
According to Reese, event planners also need to take dietary restrictions into consideration, which can make ordering food more difficult because more specialty dishes tend to be required to satisfy every visitor. Accurate preparation may become notably more challenging if attendance changes near the event date.
“It’s very hard to minimize it when there’s no guarantee,” Reese said. “Guests drop out, or more guests come, and it can become pretty hard to make sure that absolutely nothing goes to waste.”
Local hospitality workers here say that despite the difficulties, the hospitality industry is growing more aware of sustainability and long-term waste reduction. Many people consider that attempts to cut down on unneeded food waste are naturally supported by Hawai‘i’s strong feeling of community and sharing culture.
