The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson reported in October 2025 that Harvard University Dining Services had begun piloting Winnow's AI food waste system in three residential dining halls: Adams House, Currier House, and Annenberg Hall. The technology pairs a floor scale with a smart camera that weighs and photographs discarded food and identifies menu items, giving kitchen staff near real-time data. HUDS director Martin Breslin said, "When I pull a report from Winnow, almost every day, I can see exactly the food coming back," letting staff adjust production quickly. The pilot identified rice as the most overproduced item across all three locations and prompted HUDS to shorten its menu cycle from four weeks to three. HUDS set an internal goal of a 15 percent reduction in kitchen-level food waste by 20 December 2025, with a full campus-wide rollout contingent on meeting that target.
