If your business is donating food, you’re already part of the effort to reduce food waste. You’ve probably also been told that the data needs to be tracked. But what kind of data? And why does it matter how much you know about your food waste and the food you donate?
That was a main theme of the panel “Making Measurement Matter: From Compliance Pressures to Operational Impacts” at the 2026 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit. The panelists made the case for measuring and reporting food waste so it actually helps the business make better decisions.
Good reporting should help you see how much surplus food you’re generating and where it comes from, how often it is recovered, what impact that has on the community, and how you might prevent it in the first place.
Start With How Much
You already know you generate surplus food, especially if you’re donating. The first question is how much. That leads to more useful questions: Do certain locations generate more surplus than others? Is a particular product consistently becoming surplus? Does the amount change by time of year or type of operation? Those answers are the baseline for finding ways to improve and cut costs. They reveal patterns that are easy to miss in day-to-day operations. The more consistently you measure, the more useful the information becomes.
Then Ask Why
Now that you have started with how much, ask why a particular food is becoming surplus. Are you preparing more than customers actually buy? That’s a planning or forecasting opportunity. If surplus is coming from ingredients close to their date labels, inventory practices may need a closer look.
The goal isn’t to eliminate every bit of surplus. Some of it is inevitable, depending on the industry and how you operate. The goal is to understand where you should prevent it, redistribute it, or find another solution that fits.
Tie In The Numbers You Already Watch
How can you make this easier? During the ReFED summit, Priscilla Utri of Amazon shared that the greatest value comes from connecting waste measurement and reporting to your existing business’s KPIs. And what’s the financial benefit? ReFED estimates that a 3% reduction in waste for a kitchen that spends $1 million a year on food could save about $30,000, depending on the operation.
However, don’t forget about what happens to the food, particularly if your business actively donates. Understanding the food’s destination, how quickly it was recovered, and the barriers that kept it from being donated are pieces of your recovery-program puzzle. Together they show where improvements are needed or possible.
Our bottom line: better data supports better decisions, and technology can make a difference. This closer is doing reporting, pickups, compliance, and rescue at once. Our reporting turns that data into decisions and helps maximize the food that reaches people who need it.