FoodWIN is Rikolto's centre of expertise on food waste in Flanders. Since 2015 it has guided some eighty large-scale kitchens, hotels, restaurants and food companies to measure how much food they throw away, find out where it is lost and cut it, with programmes that reach up to 50% less waste.
FoodWIN was founded in 2015 and is part of Rikolto, an international organisation working for healthy and sustainable food systems. From its base in Leuven, it has run hands-on programmes with some eighty large-scale kitchens of companies and public bodies, hotels, restaurants and food companies, from hospitals, care homes and schools to company restaurants and retailers. It offers three formats: a tailored programme (baseline measurement, strategy, action, impact measurement), workshops on sustainable purchasing, smart buffet management, portioning, waste-free guests, measuring and turning surplus into value, and one-off advice. With GoodPlanet and EU funding it runs HotelsCutWaste for hotels, and with ILVO and Mosquito in the Room it runs FoodPlus for care facilities. Since 2025 it has also built an online measuring tool so kitchens can keep tracking their waste after a programme. FoodWIN is the Flemish knowledge hub and point of contact on food waste for cities, municipalities, intermunicipal bodies and retailers, and brings Flemish anti-food-waste organisations together in De Kostwinners. Its work is supported by Vlaanderen Circulair, the European Union, Belfius and the provinces of East and West Flanders.
Vayamundo Oostende, a holiday club hotel on the Belgian coast, worked with FoodWIN in 2025 to tackle the food left over in its kitchen and at its buffet. The team reviewed portion sizes, switched to smaller dishes on the buffet and improved communication between the kitchen and the restaurant, so production follows what guests actually eat.
Read the case studyThe two hotels already shared daily figures on breakfast waste, yet the baseline measurement found 76 g of food lost per guest per breakfast, more than 1,100 kg a year, or an estimated €6,600 and 10,000 kg CO2e a year. Kitchen, floor staff and management drew up the action plan together: clear baking guidelines for the breakfast team, tomato ends reused in homemade soup, smaller plates, bowls and serving spoons on the buffet, signs for guests, and floor staff telling the kitchen how many guests are still expected so it refills only what is needed. The programme ran within HotelsCutWaste, a FoodWIN and GoodPlanet project funded by the European Union.
Read the case studyZorgbedrijf Sakura, a care provider in Lokeren, followed the FoodWIN programme in its kitchens. Working on portions and on residents' preferences, the team made its kitchens more efficient and improved the mealtime experience, so each resident gets what he or she actually needs. Over one year, the results below were measured.
Read the case studyAlready Green Key certified, Van der Valk Hotel Antwerpen wanted to go further on food waste. After a first measurement, the chef, banqueting manager, restaurant manager, marketing and the general manager built an integrated action plan with FoodWIN: awareness signs in the restaurant, cross-use of ingredients between dishes, adjusted plate sizes and changes in purchasing, without guests ever going short. The first measurement took extra effort; by the second it ran on its own, and the hotel now keeps measuring with FoodWIN's online tool.
AZORG, a hospital group in Aalst, was the first to join FoodPlus, a one-year programme run by FoodWIN, ILVO and Mosquito in the Room with support from the Green Deal Duurzame Zorg, that combines tailored nutrition, more plant-based food and less waste. It started at the end of October 2025 with a food waste measurement and a menu analysis. Eighteen care and food professionals then worked through the results in a strategy session: what the hospital already does well, where to act on waste, and how to put more varied, colourful plant-based dishes on the menu. The resulting list of interventions is being turned into an action plan.
“Met de ondersteuning van FoodWIN konden we voedselverspilling drastisch terugdringen. We herbekeken de portiegroottes, gebruiken kleinere schalen op het buffet en verbeterde communicatie tussen keuken en restaurant.”
“Het traject wordt professioneel begeleid, je krijgt concrete handvaten en je ziet effectief resultaat. Absoluut doen dus.”
“We zorgen niet alleen voor meer efficiëntie in onze keukens, maar ook voor een betere maaltijdbeleving. We gaan bewuster om met porties en voorkeuren, zodat elke bewoner écht krijgt wat hij of zij nodig heeft.”
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