Food Wastage in Indian Weddings

Indian weddings! There is no doubt that in Indian culture, weddings are the biggest event and happen on a very large scale. People spend most of their life savings in organizing lavish weddings of their kid(s) with the most scrumptious food. Food is one of the main and very important things about Indian weddings. Tons of food is prepared for the grand wedding celebrations, but does all that food get eaten? The answer to this is NO. In fact, all that food is thrown away and wasted. 

Indian weddings that are famous for ages for being lavish have only one major throwback and that is FOOD WASTAGE. Sadly, this is often ignored and taken lightly. The leftover food at a wedding is a very common issue, but the main challenge that comes is to not let that food get wasted. According to several types of research, approximately 40 percent of the food prepared at a wedding venue is wasted and thrown away after the wedding ends. India’s estimated 10 million weddings a year contribute to food wastage. 

We all are aware that in India, starvation is one of the major causes of death. We can overcome this issue easily as our country has enough food to feed everyone, it just needs to be used properly. Countless children sleep empty stomach and are starving out there. While finalizing the wedding menu, people often forget that food prepared in such a large quantity might get wasted at the end of the event. Luckily, the commitment to give back to society is increasing nowadays and people have started thinking through till after-the-event. 

Here are some pointers on how to reduce the wastage of food at Weddings. 

Menu Selection

It is important that you choose your wedding menu carefully, and most importantly choose the food that suits your guests. If you are opting for some exotic menu, but your guests are more inclined towards desi Indian dishes, then the mismatch might lead to food wastage in large amounts. So, it is better to be aware of what to order and how much to order.

Request for RSVP

Not yet so common in India, but it is important to ask your guests to RSVP for a good estimation of the quantity of food required. It is easy for caterers too to plan well.

Caterer Selection

While there are hundreds of caterers available, selecting a wedding caterer for your wedding is a daunting task. Most people go with caterers recommended by close family and friends. Some families are still open to try new caterers after food tasting. While finalizing the caterers, make sure that they have a good amount of experience in wedding catering to reduce the chances of wasting food.

Asking Guests

Everybody knows that food should not be wasted. But telling your guests about it straight may sound a bit impolite. You can, however, get your napkins printed with this same message. This kind of reminder can be helpful as people will consciously make an effort to not waste food.

Tieing up with NGOs

Nowadays, there are a lot of NGOs that are working to control food wastage by distributing excess food in areas where it is needed. These NGOs can be contacted easily before or after your event. People from these NGOs come and take the leftovers and distribute them carefully amongst the people who need food the most. 

Some of the NGOs contact details for Food Donation:

1. ISKCON Food Relief Foundation – 011 2994 2255
2. Zomato Feeding India – 098711 78810
3. Delhi Gurgaon NCR FoodBank, India – 085859 95995
4. World Food Programme – 011 4655 4000

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