Leftovers from unfinished meals offered as takeout

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:25 JST, November 22, 2022

A project that sees customers take home leftovers of unfinished meals in eateries was launched by the Kanazawa city government on Nov. 1.

A total of 10 eateries, including restaurants and a wedding ceremony hall, are participating in the project, which aims to reduce food loss. According to the officials, it is the first attempt in Ishikawa Prefecture of a local government and eateries cooperating in this kind of project.

The city government is calling on customers and eateries to introduce measures such as the “3010 movement,” which sees participants concentrate on eating for the first 30 minutes and last 10 minutes of a social gathering. Officials will also request that customers order appropriate meal sizes and to finish all served portions. Any leftovers can be taken away by customers in specially made packages made from recycled materials.

The 10 eateries cooperating for the project include Otomoro Japanese cuisine restaurant, Flower Garden wedding ceremony hall and those of the Saikohrou Chinese restaurant group. Each eatery displays leaflets explaining the takeout guidelines and how eat out without wasting food. Customers taking food away can also participate in a survey expressing their opinions.

An official of the city government’s environment policy section said, “Food loss is an important issue. We will examine the survey results for benefits and problems, increase the number of eateries that cooperate in the takeout project and continue to boost food loss measures.”