Darden Harvest Program Mandy Sedlak, R.S. Manager, Total Quality June 6, 2012 Darden ● Darden is the world’s largest full service restaurant company § Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse § Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s ● Over 1,900 company owned and operated restaurants in more than 1000 North American communities ● Employs more than 180,000 people across North America ● Serves over 400 million meals to US customers annually 2 ® Darden Harvest Program Darden, like most restaurants, grappled for years with the problem of food waste. We particularly struggled with the uncomfortable dilemma of throwing away food that was perfectly good and safe to eat; yet, for a variety of reasons could not be sold to our guests. Throughout the day, every Darden restaurant prepares food in accordance with high quality and high food safety standards. 3 ® Darden Harvest Program According to the USDA, more than 50 million Americans battle food insecurity each year. In fact, one in five of all children nationwide do not have consistent access to proper nutrition to help them grow and learn. We recognize that a warm meal is more than just a hot plate and delicious ingredients. Enjoying a meal can actually fulfill people in ways that reach beyond hunger. Enjoying a rarely received steak or bowl of warm pasta can help an individual feel cared for and appreciated. This is why Darden established the Darden Harvest program, which allows Darden to leverage its national scale and processes to safely provide prepared food to local nonprofit charities helping people in need. 4 ® Darden Harvest Program In partnership with Food Donation Connection, a national network that works with restaurants and other food service companies to distribute high-quality, prepared foods to hunger-relief organizations across the United States, Darden established a pilot program in 2003 to harvest this excess food. The program grew into a companywide effort the following year and became known as the Darden Harvest food donation program. Through our efficient donation processes, prepared food that is nutritious and wholesome is safely donated to those in need. 9 ® Darden Harvest Program l Restaurant preparation for the Harvest Donation Program – Designate holding areas in walk in refrigerators and freezer for sheet pans used to chill and freeze items and an area for bins to hold frozen food for scheduled pick ups l Build Team Awareness & Pride – Key employees partner with managers to take the lead on ensuring foods are carefully identified and prepared for donation l Identify Food for Donation – Designate foods during end of night and prepare for donation l Prepare Food for Donation – Cook and cool if necessary, following Darden food safety practices & FDA standards – Document temperatures l Freeze Food for Donation l Food Pick Up 5 ® Safety Practices Overview l Designate Foods Suitable for Donation – Not all items are suitable for donation for reasons of quality or food safety Unopened Bagged Items - Yes Ô Must be cooled properly Ô Must be frozen from refrigeration prior to donation u Refrigerated Foods - Yes Ô Must be frozen from refrigeration prior to donation u Raw Proteins - Yes Ô Must be cooked to minimal FDA Standards, rapidly chilled and frozen prior to donation Ô Rapidly chilling involves designated cooling processes such as cutting items in half, shallow pans, ice baths u Cooked Proteins - Yes Ô Foods that have been cooked to minimal FDA Standards, plated and have not left the window - not served (mistakes) u 6 ® Darden Processes for Cooking Foods & Hot and Cold Holding l Cooking processes are defined and repeatable l Recipes and training aides include cooking CCP’s l Ensure temperature monitoring equipment is right for the job, calibrated and available l HACCP Based Food Safety Management System – Cooking temperatures are monitored and documented – Hot and cold food temperatures are monitored and documented at designated frequency 8 ® Darden Processes for Cooling Foods l Time/Temperature relationship is critical l Process is well defined and repeatable – Cooling equipment/refrigeration properly used – Shallow pans, ice baths maintained l Proper monitoring tools l HACCP Based Food Safety Management System – Documentation of cooling process & verification 9 ® Darden Harvest Program Since implementation of the Darden Harvest program, Darden has donated more than 50 million pounds of prepared food with a fair market value of approximately $500 million to community food banks and food recovery agencies across the country. Food that is not served to our guests in the restaurant is cooked, then frozen and safely stored for the local food donation agency to pick up on a weekly basis and deliver to those in need. 10 ®
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