Does Winnow slow the team down or add extra work?

No. Staff bin food exactly as they do now, with nothing to scan and nothing to select, and the AI records the item and weight in under a second. Because capture is automatic, nothing gets skipped in a lunch rush.

How much training do catering staff need?

Very little. Winnow recognises discarded food automatically, so there is no category to select and nothing to remember mid-service. That matters where student staff turn over every term.

What do the daily reports tell me?

Winnow records every discarded item with its weight, cost, food type and reason, then highlights the highest-impact waste by weight and cost. You see which dishes and which services cost you most, in time to change the next one.

How does Winnow work in a university dining hall?

A camera photographs food as it enters the bin and a connected scale weighs it. Winnow's AI identifies the item and logs its weight, cost and reason, with no action from your team. VisionPW adds plate waste measurement in halls using a motion sensor camera.

What food cost savings can universities expect?

Catering teams using Winnow typically achieve a 2 to 8% reduction in food costs by cutting avoidable food waste. Savings come from better forecasting, tighter portion control and clear visibility of where waste happens.

Winnow is the leading AI food waste system for commercial kitchens, deployed in more locations than any other. It measures what a kitchen throws away automatically and forecasts how much to produce. Winnow runs in 3,500+ locations in 90+ countries, where clients typically cut food costs 2 to 8%.

Food Waste Tracking for University Chefs

Why universities use Winnow for food waste prevention

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Plate waste measurement in halls

VisionPW uses a motion sensor camera to measure what students leave on the plate. Kitchen data tells you what you over-produced; plate waste tells you what students did not want.

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Production guidance through term-time swings

Demand shifts sharply across the academic calendar, from move-in week to exam season, and no spreadsheet survives it. Winnow shows what came back untouched at each service, so production follows real attendance.

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Auditable data for Net Zero reporting

Every disposal is weighed, timestamped and photographed, then exported by site, service and category with cost and CO₂e attached.

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Student-facing waste data

LSE Bankside House put weekly Winnow data on screens and posters, worked with its Behavioural Science Department on the visuals, and cut plate waste 34% during Food Waste Action Week.

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One platform across a mixed estate

Halls, retail outlets, events and contractor-run kitchens report into one Winnow Hub, so you can benchmark site against site.

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What savings look like

Real results from Winnow sites, so you can sanity check the numbers.

Guckenheimer

64%

Reduction in waste weight

$1,000,000

Savings

1,500 Tonnes

Of CO₂e prevented

983,000

Meals saved

University of Northern British Columbia

* savings data from Jan - Nov 2024, compared to baseline

44%*

Reduction in waste weight

$9,000

Annualized savings

36.8 Tonnes

Of CO₂e prevented annually

21,000

Meals saved annually

Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

73%

Reduction in waste weight

HK$375,000

Annualized savings

36 Tonnes

Of CO₂e prevented annually

21,000

Meals saved annually

We value sustainability and respect for ingredients, ensuring we optimize their use and minimize environmental impact.

Chef David Izquierdo Jover

Executive Chef | The Santa Maria, a Luxury Collection Hotel & Golf Resort, Panamá

When you look at the images, and then at your numbers, you realize—this could have been done better. That’s when you start to ask the right questions.

Ajinkya Soundankar

Executive Chef | NH Collection Dubai The Palm

Winnow is a very powerful tool. It can give you a lot of insights and data that you can use. Winnow is helping me make better decisions regarding inventories, portion size, and menu planning.

Ilias Doulamis

Culinary Director & Regional Chef | Arabian Peninsula Conrad Dubai

Turn food waste into measurable savings

Winnow measures what your kitchens on campus throw away and forecasts what they should produce. Your teams get a report they can act on before the next service.

2 to 8%

Cut in food costs per site

6 to 12 months

Typical payback

50%

Less food waste in year one

3,500+

Locations already live

Campus kitchens can cut waste by more than half in year one, saving thousands per kitchen.

Measured, not estimated. Every disposal weighed, timestamped and photographed.
No extra work for staff. Throw & Go records waste with nothing to scan or select.
Plate waste, not just kitchen waste. VisionPW measures what students leave behind.
Live in about 15 minutes. No technician, no IT project.

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Fill this in and a campus waste expert will get in touch to set up a demo.

AI-powered food waste prevention for university dining

Running in 3,500+ kitchens across 90+ countries, on campus and beyond.

Benefits for chefs

Bin food as normal. Throw & Go captures weight and image with no scanning, so nothing slows a lunch rush.

Show the highest-impact waste by weight and cost every day, so you can adjust production before the next service.

Recognise over 1,000 food items, so the AI keeps up when the menu changes every week of term.