The Dish: How restaurants are using leftover food to help the planet — and their bottom line

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that restaurants throw out a ton of food. “It’s endless amounts of waste and it’s really depressing,” said Safa Batniji, who has spent years working in food service both in front and back of the house. Every day, she sees food from people’s plates — unused ingredients, wrong orders — all tossed. Especially at larger businesses that serve up to thousands of meals per week, “It really, really adds up.”