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Sustainable Food Consumption in Nursing Homes: Less Food Waste with the Right Plate Color?

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  • Kai Victor Hansen

    (Norwegian School of Hotel Management Ullandhaug, University of Stavanger, NO-4036 Stavanger, Norway)

  • Lukasz Andrzej Derdowski

    (Norwegian School of Hotel Management Ullandhaug, University of Stavanger, NO-4036 Stavanger, Norway)

Abstract

The problem of unsustainable food consumption among vulnerable residents of nursing homes who suffer from dementia is often multifaceted. From an individual perspective, people with dementia who do not finish their meals are likely to encounter serious health issues associated with malnutrition. Moreover, at the institutional level, nursing homes generate tons of nonrecoverable food waste each year, impairing not only their economic position but also the natural and social environment at large. The purpose of this study is to explore the possibility of reducing food waste in Norwegian nursing homes by appraising how large this reduction could be as one replaces traditional dining white porcelain with plates with diverse color combinations. A quasi-experimental method was adopted. The results of the pilot study were extrapolated to the annual amount of food wasted at the national level. The findings indicate that, on average, 26% of food was thrown away when served on white plates compared to only 9% when served on one of the colored plate options tested. Nationally, approximately 992.6 tons of food per year could potentially be saved with only a single change, ultimately ameliorating the unsustainable food consumption problem among residents of nursing homes.

Suggested Citation

  • Kai Victor Hansen & Lukasz Andrzej Derdowski, 2020. "Sustainable Food Consumption in Nursing Homes: Less Food Waste with the Right Plate Color?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-9, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:16:p:6525-:d:398186
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Garrone, Paola & Melacini, Marco & Perego, Alessandro, 2014. "Opening the black box of food waste reduction," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 129-139.
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    Cited by:

    1. Farzana Quoquab & Jihad Mohammad, 2020. "Cognitive, Affective and Conative Domains of Sustainable Consumption: Scale Development and Validation Using Confirmatory Composite Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-22, September.

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