NEW YORK — Imagine if there was a way for chefs and foodservice operators to include more vegetables into prepared dishes. Not just any vegetables, but the plants that typically never leave the field. That’s what brothers Jeremy and Adam Kaye, co-founders of The Spare Food Co., New York, envision with the company’s new Spare Starter that made its debut at Fornino in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY, on Nov. 6, kicking off a two-week “Waste Not, Want More” culinary event.

The initiative is not about sneaking vegetables into unlikely dishes. Instead, it’s about feeling good about reducing food waste by eating surplus farm produce.  

“Spare Starter offers a tangible solution toward a sustainable and equitable food system and a proactive way to help achieve the sustainability goals of foodservice operators, their corporate clients and their diners,” said Jeremy Kaye.

The Kaye brothers are onto something, as sustainability will continue to grow increasingly popular when making food choices, according to Innova Market Insights, Arnhem, The Netherlands. Sustainability is at the center of Innova’s No. 2 trend for 2024: “nurturing nature.” 

Seventy percent of consumers said sustainability is more important when choosing a product than two years ago, according to new research from data and analytics solution provider NIQ (formerly NielsenIQ), Chicago. Restaurants that incorporate sustainable sourcing create a point of differentiation when vying for diners’ dollars. 

“From regenerative agriculture to farming conditions for livestock, brands that highlight a bond with nature and the environment are achieving cut-through with consumers,” said Lu Ann Williams, global insight director at Innova. 

Jeremy Kaye described Spare Starter as a versatile value-added culinary ingredient made with six vegetables and a proprietary spice blend. It includes parts of vegetables, such as leaves and stalks, which are nutritious but more typically trimmed and discarded.

The Kaye brothers collaborated with Fornino chef and owner Michael Ayoub to use the item in everything from ravioli filling to burgers (30% vegetables and 70% grass-fed beef). Mr. Ayoub also is using Spare Starter on pizzas that have a crust made with ReGrained SuperGrain+ from Upcycled Foods Inc., Berkeley, Calif. This is an upcycled flour derived from brewer’s spent grain. Also on the special menu is sangria made with The Spare Food Co.’s Spare Tonic, a climate-friendly probiotic sparkling tonic made with upcycled whey.

“It is well documented that around a third of all food that is produced is wasted, and that reducing food waste is shown to be the No. 1 way that we can reverse the effects of climate change,” Jeremy Kaye said. “Where others see waste, we see overlooked ingredients and untapped goodness. Our mission is to prevent food from being wasted by shifting the collective perspective to making the overlooked essential.”

Concern for food waste resonates across all generations, said Amanda Hartt, senior manager, NEXT Data and Insights-New Hope Network, Boulder, Colo. “(Consumers) look to brands that mitigate reducing waste in their supply chain.”