Exploring Food Waste at a Hospitality Staff Canteen With Meteorological Data

While food waste in the hospitality industry remains a major global issue, the food waste practices of employees have been largely neglected. This paper explores the effects of meteorological factors on unserved food from the perspective of hospitality employees. A mixed methods research design is a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hospitality & tourism research (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2024-05, Vol.48 (4), p.607-621
Main Authors: Lei, Soey Sut Ieng, Agyeiwaah, Elizabeth, Fong, Lawrence Hoc Nang, Choe, Ja Young (Jacey)
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:While food waste in the hospitality industry remains a major global issue, the food waste practices of employees have been largely neglected. This paper explores the effects of meteorological factors on unserved food from the perspective of hospitality employees. A mixed methods research design is adopted with quantitative data obtained from the unserved food records of an integrated resort (IR) with additional meteorological data from an official government website. This quantitative data is complemented by in-depth interviews with employees of the IR. The results of the quantitative study indicate that high mean temperatures and higher average sulfur dioxide and ozone levels significantly influence the amount of unserved food. Further exploration of the quantitative study results through qualitative interviews reveals the mechanism that underlies the impact of meteorological factors on the amount of unserved food. Managerial implications are provided for hospitality firms to mitigate food waste in the workplace.
ISSN:1096-3480
1557-7554
DOI:10.1177/10963480231188001