The National Restaurant Association has partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to provide restaurants resources for how they can reduce the amount of food that goes to waste.

The 86 Food Waste program consists of free resources available for download by any interested restaurant, the association said in a statement. The groups ran a 30-day test run of the program in both national and independent restaurants and concluded the industry could gain as much as $1.6 billion in unrealized profits annually ifs restaurants implemented waste- reduction tactics.

"The problem is, making these commitments, training staff, and running a profitable restaurant can be exceedingly difficult, especially if an owner or manager tries to take on the issue of food waste all at once," said Jeff Clark, director of sustainability and nutrition for the National Restaurant Association. "This partnership with WWF gave us the unique opportunity to create and pilot real-life food waste reduction efforts that can help restaurants start making small changes across how they order supplies, prepare foods, plan menu concepts, and donate or divert unused food."

Some of the test program's findings:

• Separation and measurement of food waste is an effective way to zero in on strategic opportunities to fight unique or situational food- waste challenges.

• Waste generated in the "back of house" was, on average, 73% a result of spoilage and preparation waste, while front of house was 27% customer plate waste. Numerous tactics are needed to address waste in both functions.

• It's important to have at least one staff member dedicated to championing new behaviors and embedding these practices into the standard operating procedures and employee culture of the restaurant.

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