Outcome and process evaluation of the “OchaEco Bento” program to reduce food loss in a university cafeteria

Abstract

Objective: The “OchaEco Bento” program was implemented to address food wastage in the co-op cafeteria at the Ochanomizu University, whereby meals about to be disposed due to surplus cooking are repacked and sold at discounted prices. This report describes the program details, and outcome and process evaluations from users’ and cafeteria destaffs’ perspectives.

Activities: “OchaEco Bento” was initiated in April 2023, whereby the cafeteria staff repacked unsold dishes into lunchboxes and sold the rice with side dishes and side dishes only for 300 and 200 yen, respectively.

Activity evaluations: From May to July 2023, the cafeteria sold 123, 243, and 248 packs each month, amounting to 35.9, 67.6, and 74.1 kgs, respectively, in terms of weight, and 32,100, 63,100, and 64,700 yen, respectively, in terms of sales amount. The online user survey of 132 participants revealed mean (standard deviation) content satisfaction of 77.9 (18.3) and price satisfaction of 88.8 (14.6) points (0–100). Cafeteria staffs’ interview revealed that “doing it in a short time” was difficult initially, but in July, they became accustomed to it and “improved ways to pack the dishes to sell well.” However, they also felt “conflicted about whether it was appropriate for business” if users showed interest in discounted products, and concerned for “food loss problems for dinner.”

Conclusions: The program reduced food loss and users were highly satisfied. In future, reducing food loss at dinner and avoiding cooking excess food would need to be addressed as the root causes of food loss in the cafeteria.