The U.S. restaurant industry generates about 11.4 million tons of wasted food annually at a cost of roughly $25 billion every year. For every $1 invested in food waste reduction efforts, restaurants can realize about $8 of cost savings.

Quick tips to reduce wasted food for food retailers & manufacturers:

• Download SCDES's Smart Businesses Don't Waste Food Guide.
• Conduct a waste audit. Determine what you waste and how much it's costing your business.
• Partner with local farmers. Meet with a local farmer to plan your produce availability around what is in season.
• Love ugly fruits & veggies.

Don’t Waste Food SC is a collaborative outreach campaign that brings together ambassadors from the public and private sectors to share knowledge, coordinate resources, and work together to reduce wasted food in South Carolina.

Why food waste? Food is the No.1 item Americans throw away. Each year up to 40 percent of the nation’s food supply is never consumed – an annual loss of $218 billion. Wasted food also wastes resources. Any labor, energy, water, land, and other resources used to produce, package, and move food from the farm to our plates are lost.