Breaking food waste traditions: Aramark's initiative at Asilomar Conference Center

Aramark, a signatory of the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment, piloted a consumer messaging strategy to reduce post-consumer plate waste at the Asilomar Conference Center. While the specific messaging pilot did not result in a measurable decrease in waste per meal, it prompted the facility to transition from a century-old family-style service model to more controlled portioning methods, such as pre-portioned salads and centralized stations for pastries and fruit.

• Aramark, Compass, and Sodexo—who collectively hold nearly 50% of the US food service market share—conducted a collaborative pilot from spring to fall 2023 to test if intentional consumer messaging via posters and table tents could reduce post-consumer plate waste.
• At the Asilomar Conference Center, the consumer messaging pilot did not produce a measurable reduction in plate waste, which remained at 3 oz per meal, although a consumer survey showed a 7% increase in guests reporting motivation to reduce their waste.
• The pilot led the Asilomar Conference Center to abandon its traditional family-style service model in favor of several waste-reducing operational changes: moving pastries and fruit to a single table, pre-portioning salads on demand, and using servers to manage the oatmeal station to prevent overservice.
• In the United States, approximately 38% of food is lost or wasted, contributing to 6% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions.

APA

McNerney, T. (2024). Breaking food waste traditions: Aramark's initiative at Asilomar Conference Center. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/perspectives/sustainability-works-hub/sustainability-works-index/breaking-food-waste-traditions-aramarks-initiative-at-asilomar-conference-center/

Chicago

McNerney, Tara. Breaking food waste traditions: Aramark's initiative at Asilomar Conference Center. WWF International, 2024. https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/perspectives/sustainability-works-hub/sustainability-works-index/breaking-food-waste-traditions-aramarks-initiative-at-asilomar-conference-center/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=McNerney |first1=Tara |title=Breaking food waste traditions: Aramark's initiative at Asilomar Conference Center |publisher=WWF International |date=25 January 2024 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/perspectives/sustainability-works-hub/sustainability-works-index/breaking-food-waste-traditions-aramarks-initiative-at-asilomar-conference-center/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mcnerney2024breaking, author = {McNerney, Tara}, title = {{Breaking food waste traditions: Aramark's initiative at Asilomar Conference Center}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/perspectives/sustainability-works-hub/sustainability-works-index/breaking-food-waste-traditions-aramarks-initiative-at-asilomar-conference-center/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }