LeanPath launches food waste tracking software

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LeanPath Inc. will launch this summer a software-as-a-service product aimed to help any commercial kitchen reduce its waste stream by tracking the food that gets thrown away.

Portland-based LeanPath, founded in 2004, will introduce its WasteLOGGER program this summer for restaurants, hotels, catering services and other operations that want to get a handle on how much food they're wasting and how practices can be adjusted to minimize the waste.

WasteLOGGER, offered at $38 per month, is a scaled-down version of the company's flagship product, ValuWaste, used by customers in 26 states. Priced starting at $10,000, ValuWaste — a combination of software, measuring equipment, a touch-screen terminal and operations advice — is used by volume food service operators at locations such as Providence, Portland State University and Intel.

But the scaled-down version will aim to bring the same kind of tracking ability to smaller kitchens.

"Sustainability in food service is a trend with a capital-T," said Andrew Shakman, president and co-founder of LeanPath.

Shakman said that LeanPath research shows 4 percent to 10 percent of food purchased ends up in the garbage —without stopping first on a plate. By tracking the waste, kitchen operators are better able to figure out how to tweak their practices and reduce the flow of food-related trash.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers a food-waste recovery hierarchy that puts source reductions — wasting less food — at the top of the list.

"Composting is great but it doesn't mean it's not waste," Shakman said.

Shakman declined to share revenue for LeanPath, which has 10 employees.

Green recognition programs are growing in popularity among restaurants, such as the National Restaurant Association's Greener Restaurants Program and Green Seal's green restaurant standard. Both promote food waste auditing and tracking for sustainable restaurant practices.