NO FOOD GOES TO

WASTE
May 18, 2017
Jack Hardin
Table of Contents

Executive
Summary
. 3

Problem
4

Product Description

5,6

Cost Analysis

7,8

Assessment
Strategy
9

Conclusion
10

Table of
Contents
11

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Executive Summary

The No Food Goes to Waste project is simple yet effective. By partnering with Food Donation
Connection, Garbanzos Mediterranean Fresh will have all the tools it needs to begin
redistributing leftover food to local charitable organizations and homeless shelters.

Food Donation Connection will do the bulk of the work when it comes to the logistically
complex nature of food distribution such as determining the best organizations to donate to and
handling the transportation of the food to these organizations. They will also provide
Garbanzos a detailed plan, including a six-step preparation process, which will tell both the
company and employees exactly what they need to do to ensure that the leftover food is ready
for pickup.

This project has the potential to impact every aspect of Garbanzos the triple bottom line. Most
directly, the No Food Goes to Waste project will help those receiving the leftover food each
night as well as raising employee morale. The project will also reduce Garbanzos carbon
footprint as they will have less food waste every night. Finally, the project will increase profits as
these charitable donations warrant tax reductions up to 15% of the companys net income.

While the project will require employees to spend more time packaging, weighing, and
documenting the leftover food. The return on investment is so high that any extra time spent
during the process will be mitigated.

The No Food Goes to Waste project will start with one Garbanzos location near the
headquarters where it will be closely monitored. If successful, the project can eventually be
implemented to all 22 Garbanzos locations across the country and Garbanzos can help set an
example in the industry on how to reduce organic food waste.

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About the Company

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh is a private company whose mission statement is, To Bring The
Family Together. They have an estimated $6 million in revenue across 22 stores and have an
estimated 219 employees. Garbanzos has restaurants in Texas, California, and Virginia by
Colorado is its primary location and where they are headquartered. They are a quick-service
restaurant with a style of preparation like Chipotle they make the food directly in front of the
customers.

Problem
My first night working the night shift at Garbanzos Mediterranean Grill was during a hot
Colorado night in the Summer of 2016. We had just closed and I was starting to clean up. I
noticed that we had a lot of left over precooked chicken and steak probably 30 pieces total. I
asked my boss what I should do with the leftover food. He told me to throw it away. I asked him
why we would throw away all the food that I had just cooked less than an hour ago to prepare
for our final potential customers. He shrugged his shoulders, exhaled, and said, thats just
what we do here.

Each night, restaurants have leftover food and have the

misbelief that they cannot serve precooked food and
donate it. Yet, there is no available public record of
anyone in the United States ever being sued because of
harms related to donated food. This is largely in part
because the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act protects
restaurants from civil and criminal liability should a
recipient be harmed because of donated food.

There is a clear opportunity for restaurants - like Garbanzos Mediterranean Fresh - to become
more sustainable and begin redistributing their leftover food at the end of the night. This will
not only increase the triple bottom line, but also to help the those in the community who
desperately need it the most.

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While the issues of food waste and world hunger are huge global - issues, the solution must
start on a small scale. Small companies like Garbanzos need to take small steps to combat their
own food waste. While Garbanzos food waste is a microscopic fraction of the global food
wastage, if every company takes the same initiative then real change can be facilitated. Doing
something as simple as redistributing food can change the world, and can stick with people.

Another problem with the topics of food waste and hunger is that they are often associated
with statistics (like the one above). While these statistics can give great insight into the scope of
issues, they often leave out one of the most critical aspects of these issues the people. It is
people that are starving each day of the year, not statistics. It is the people who are having to
move homes because another waste facility is being opened. By telling peoples stories we can
begin to better understand the issues that our world, as well as possible solutions.

Project Description
Food surpluses in the Restaurant industry are inevitable. This
excess cannot be prevented - but it can be redistributed. The
primary goal of the No Food Goes to Waste project is to
integrate Garbanzos Mediterranean Fresh with an
organization that can manage the redistribution of leftover
food to local charitable organizations and homeless shelters.
The company that is proposed for this project is Food
Donation Connection.

Food Donation Connection has assisted food service

companies with the development and implementation of
redistribution programs designed to provide an alternative to
discarding surplus food for over 20 years and has worked with
companies such as Pizza Hut, KFC, Chick-fil-A, and Chipotle.

Food Donation Connection links donor restaurants with food

rescue groups or those feeding the needy, assisting in the development of product quality and
handing standards, tax valuation, donation reporting and ongoing monitoring and follow-up to
ensure program implementation and growth.

It is difficult to measure data in the field of food redistribution because of the fluctuations from
night to night and the resiliency of companies to give out this data. Often the amount of leftover
food depends on how well a store estimates the number of customers they will have in the final
hours of business before closing.

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By partnering with Food Donation Connection, Garbanzos will be able to start documenting
how much food they are donating each night using a six-step process:

1) Identify the food to be donated

2) Safely package and label food
3) Carefully weigh donated product
4) Properly chill, then freeze product in pans
5) Document quantity of product on log-hold for pick up
6) Submit logs to FDC for processing

Project Description Cont.

This project has the potential to affect every aspect of the triple bottom line:

People Most directly, the No Food Goes to Waste project will help those receiving the
leftover food each night. By implementing a program which highlights where specifically the
food is going and who it is going to, employees will recognize the direct connection that they
have with helping the hungry in their local communities. This will build company goodwill and
should raise employee moral as all the food that are cooking will be eaten.

Planet 13% of all organic food waste comes from quick-service restaurants like
Garbanzos. While it may not seem like a substantial amount, donating leftover food at the end
of the night can make an environmental change, and improve Garbanzos carbon footprint. How
much it will effect the carbon footprint can only be determined by implementing the project
and documenting the data internally.

Profit By making charitable donations, Garbanzos is entitled to tax write-offs of up to 15%

of their net income. While some of these savings will go to Food Donation Connection, it is still
money that Garbanzos will be saving from food that would otherwise be thrown away. In

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addition, by donating food, more people will be exposed the Mediterranean Cuisine that
Garbanzos has and may find themselves craving it when they do have money for food.

This it is a project that should be readily received by the employees as it directly benefits those
in the very nearby communities. Every employee should be informed of this project
implementation immediately and those working the last shift of the night should have a short
15-minute training session learning the six-step process they should take at the end of every
night.

Cost Analysis
The direct cost of the project is that it will require employees to spend extra time after closing
packaging weighing, and documenting the leftover food so it can be redistributed. This process
would add approximately 10 minutes to the closing process. The monetary cost of
implementation in each store will be calculated next page.

An indirect cost of the product is the communication that must be facilitated between
Garbanzos and Food Donation Connection. Food Donation Connection must know which
Garbanzo stores will be participating as well as the faster routes from store to store and then to
the charitable donations. As the project becomes more integrated into the company, this
communication become easier, but the initial set up of the project will require coordination
between the two companies.

Food Donation Connection does not compete against non-profits for funding from government
and private sources. Instead, FDC funding is derived from a percentage of donor partners
incremental tax savings, that result from the proper donation of surplus food. Food Donation
Connection receives exactly 35% of the incremental tax savings.

In 2015, Congress passed the PATH Act as Division Q of the Consolidated Appropriations Act
2016, which modified Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code to allow all companies to earn
an enhanced tax deduction for donating selected surplus property, including food. With the
following characteristics:

Charitable Contributions cap is 15% of net income, with 5% specifically for

food donations
A tax deduction can be carried forward 5 years

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 The FDA defines fair market value for donated food by considering the price
at which the item is sold at the time of the contribution
Providing basis for food donations from businesses using the cash method
of accounting as 25% of the fair market value

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Cost Analysis Cont.

Cost of Implementation
2 Employees, 10 Minutes each $3.33 per nightly food distribution preparation
(($10/hour) x 2) x 1/6=

$3.33 every night for 22 locations $73.33 per night for all locations combined
($3.33 x 22) =

$73.33 per night for a year $26,766.67 implementation cost in labor per
($73.33 x 365) = year

Return on Implementation
Garbanzos estimated to make $400,000 in profit $60,000 possible tax write offs from charitable
each year contributions
($400,000 x 15%) =

If each store donates $50 of leftover food/night $1,100 worth of food donations per night
($50 x 22) =

Each store does this each day every year $401,500 worth of food donations per year
($1,100 x 365) = $401,500
The FDA uses 25% of the fair market value $100,375 donations using FDA standards
($401,500 x 25%) = ($100,375 > $60,000) = $60,000
Food Donation Connection takes their 35% cut of $39,000 in tax write-offs each year
the tax savings
$60,000 - ($60,000 x 35%) =

Return on Implementation: $39,000

Less than: Cost of Implementation: $26,766.67

= $12,233.34 from Implementation

Return on Investment ($12,233.34/$26,766.67) = 45% return on investment

Assessment Strategy

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 Short Term Goals Long Term Goals

Test No Food Goes to Waste Implement project throughout all

project with one store in locations in Colorado (17/22) and
Colorado, close to Garbanzos then expand out of state
headquarters Max out at potential tax savings
Create quantifiable data for food Company wide employee surveys
waste and amount redistributed on morale and/or views of
Take note of effects on food company
wastage, carbon footprint Become independent of Food
Survey employees before, Donation Connection and start
during, and after test to see if own food distribution process
their moral and/or view of Set an example in the restaurant
company has changed industry, and become a leader in
Survey charitable organization sustainability
food is donated to see if they are
benefiting

The first way to ensure that the idea of the project remains the same, especially during wide-spread
implementation is to keep the main idea simple. The core of the project is simple: donate the
leftover food to those who need it in the communities instead of throwing it away. Often ideas
become bigger and more complex as they are being implemented. It is crucial that the core of the
project stays the same.

In addition, if stories about who exactly that food has fed before could be inspirational for both the
employees and others in the community. It is easy to think of the hunger as a statistic, but when
you see their face, hear their stories, a basic human connection is formed.

Conclusion

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The No Food Goes to Waste project is an opportunity for Garbanzos to not only
increase every aspect of their triple bottom line, but also an opportunity to
become a leader in sustainability in the restaurant industry. While on the surface,
the project seems very external - in that food is leaving the company restaurants
it is very internal as well. Food waste goes down, employee morale goes up, and
profit increases. Within the next year, all 22 Garbanzos stores could implement
this project and thrive as new leaders in sustainability.

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Appendix

TO: Garbanzos Employees

FROM: Jack Hardin

DATE: May 18, 2017

SUBJECT: No Food Goes to Waste project implementation

Garbanzo executives have decided to implement a new project across all stores focused on
sustainability and the triple bottom line: profits, people, and planet. The project is simple,
redistribute the leftover food we have at the end of each night to those in our local
communities who are hungry. Instead of throwing the leftover food away, we will now be
packaging, weighing, and documenting the it each night.

Representatives from charitable organizations focused on feeding the hungry will come to our
stores each night during closing time and take out leftover food to those who need it most. We
have decided to partner with a company that focuses on the connections restaurants like us
with organizations which need food called Food Connection Donation.

As their partner, they will be providing all employees with training books which can further
explain what will be expected from you. While packaging, weighing, and documenting this
leftover food each night will add approximately 10 minutes to your closing shift, we at
Garbanzos believe that this time is well spent as it will be directing benefiting those in our
community.

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Works Cited

Food Donation Connection - Donate Food - Harvest Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2017.

Citizen-Times, Mackensy Lunsford Asheville (N.C.). "Despite Law, Restaurants Still Don't Donate
Food." USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 23 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 May 2017.

"How to Help." How To Help - Second Harvest Food Bank. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2017.

"World Hunger Facts." Freedom from Hunger. N.p., 19 Feb. 2013. Web. 17 May 2017.

"Mediterranean Fresh." Garbanzo. N.p., 01 Nov. 2016. Web. 17 May 2017.

Goldberg, Eleanor. "Why Restaurants Officially Have No Excuse Not To Donate Their Leftover
Food." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Dec. 2016. Web. 17 May 2017.

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