ReFED’s New Report Shows Why Smarter Kitchens Are the Next Step in Food Waste Prevention

ReFED’s new report, The Food Operating System: How AI is Being Deployed Across the Food System to Reduce Waste, puts numbers behind something we see every day at Metafoodx: you can’t prevent food waste if you don’t know exactly what is being wasted, when, and why. Drawing on more than 40 interviews with food industry leaders, operators, technology companies, and solution providers, ReFED looks at how new technology is being used across the food system and, importantly, where it is actually producing results. For commercial kitchens, the findings are particularly compelling.

Foodservice is already seeing results

ReFED identifies foodservice as one of the most mature areas for technology-enabled waste reduction. In 2024, the sector generated 12.5 million tons of surplus food in the U.S., valued at $156.5 billion. At the same time, companies interviewed for the report cited 20–53% reductions in food waste across commercial foodservice and manufacturing. Why is the opportunity so strong in kitchens?

Because food waste happens in a concentrated, measurable environment. Ingredients are purchased, prepped, served, and discarded within an operation where relatively small changes can translate into significant savings. This is exactly where Metafoodx is focused.

By automatically capturing what is being discarded, kitchens can move beyond occasional waste audits and manual tracking. Operators get a much clearer picture of what they're overproducing, which menu items generate waste, and where changes to purchasing and prep can make a difference. The value isn't simply knowing that waste occurred. It's having information early enough to prevent it from happening again.

Measurement has to connect to action

One of the strongest messages in ReFED's report is that technology by itself doesn't reduce food waste. A system can identify an opportunity perfectly, but the savings only happen if the kitchen can actually change what it does. ReFED recommends that food businesses start with specific, measurable waste problems, establish clear baselines, integrate technology into existing workflows, and evaluate success based on actual waste reduction and not simply the accuracy of the technology.

At Metafoodx, our goal isn't to give kitchen teams another dashboard to manage. It's to make food waste measurement easier and turn what is captured into practical decisions: What should we prep less of? What keeps coming back? Where are we consistently overproducing? What should change tomorrow?

From waste tracking to running a smarter kitchen

ReFED calls its report The Food Operating System because it sees the industry moving toward something bigger than standalone waste-tracking tools. Today, many businesses have separate systems for waste, inventory, menus, purchasing, and forecasting. ReFED argues that connecting those systems can allow information from one part of the operation to improve decisions elsewhere. For commercial kitchens, that's the real opportunity ahead.

Waste data shouldn't live at the trash can. It should help inform production planning, purchasing, menus, and ultimately how much food gets prepared in the first place.

ReFED's report reinforces what we're building toward at Metafoodx: a kitchen where understanding waste is automatic, insights are actionable, and prevention becomes part of everyday operations.

Because the best food waste isn't the waste you measure. It's the waste you never create.