In the spirit of the holiday season, Hilton announced that it is expanding its innovative food donation initiative to all of its managed hotels across the United States and Canada.
The company expects to donate nearly 100 tons of food during the next year, which it says is enough to feed more than 160,000 people. Meanwhile, the program keeps millions of pounds of food waste from clogging up landfills.
"We have a century-long tradition at Hilton of playing a pioneering role in the hospitality industry, and it is inspiring to see our team members taking that spirit out into their communities to address the serious problem of food insecurity," said Chef Marc Ehrler, vice president of Americas Culinary, Hilton.
"What started as a pilot in a few of our hotels has become a movement because our team members are motivated by a desire to have a positive impact."
Hilton points out that approximately one-third of food is wasted worldwide, yet global food insecurity remains endemic.
Furthermore, estimates indicate that more than 41 million Americans, including 13 million children, currently suffer from food insecurity. Still, most food waste ends up in landfills, contributing to 10 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions that contribute significantly to climate change.
Hilton has further committed to reducing its food waste by 50 percent by 2030 as part of the company's Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals to cut its environmental footprint in half. The hotel company is working with its environmental partner, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to better understand food waste reduction challenges and opportunities in the hospitality industry.
A pilot program at 50 hotels around the world resulted in a number of innovations in Hilton hotels, from "no-waste" catering menus to thoughtfully designed buffet presentations.
"At Hilton, we have incredible potential to solve some of society's most pressing challenges through our hospitality mission," said Katie Fallon, executive vice president of corporate affairs, responsible for Hilton's corporate responsibility efforts.
"We will keep at this until every one of our hotels around the world is diverting food waste to address the hunger crisis so that our guests know that when they stay with us, they are traveling with a purpose."
Hilton also participated in the development of the Hotel Kitchen toolkit. The tool was created by WWF and the American Hotel & Lodging Association with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and provides hotels with techniques to reduce food waste.
Hilton has Hotel Kitchen toolkit and its associated training to work at all of its managed hotels in the Americas and made it available to franchised properties.
Hilton has now expanded its food waste initiative and is encouraging its 300 managed hotels in the U.S. and Canada to partner with local food rescue organizations to feed the hungry in their immediate communities. The goal is to further expand these programs on a global scale.
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