Together against food waste

Globally, about one third of all food produced is wasted.

When you eat with us, you can both save money and contribute to a more sustainable student life.

Choose for yourself and avoid food waste

In our canteens, you pick your own food from our lunch buffet and pay by weight. When you choose both the food and the portion size yourself, there's a good chance the food will be eaten – so you avoid wasting both food and money. Feel free to try a little bit of many dishes, and if you'd like more, simply help yourself to another serving! If you have any food left over, you're welcome to take it with you in your own lunch box and enjoy it later.

Be a food saver and save money!

At Grut coffee bar, we sell yesterday’s dishes and baked goods at half price. And food produced in the cafeterias that isn’t sold within a reasonable time is offered at a reduced price in our staffed and unstaffed outlets. We also use Too Good To Go at the MIX kiosk in Tromsø.

Remember that products labeled with 'best before' are often perfectly fine long after the stated date. Look, smell, and taste!

Since we started using Too Good To Go in May 2023, students on campus have saved 1760 meals from being wasted and prevented 4,75 tons of CO₂ emissions!

We save what we can

We rescue food items and leftovers every single day:

• Salad bar leftovers are used in hot dishes the next day
• Bread leftovers become croutons or breadcrumbs
• Cheese scraps are used in lasagna or pizza
• Porridge leftovers go into waffle batter or cold breakfast porridge
• Surplus fruit is used in cakes and smoothies

Most things can be eaten! Our chefs are experts at using the whole ingredient; vegetable stalks are baked and seasoned, vegetable trimmings are vacuum-packed and used in sauces. Broccoli stems are often used in salads or as a side for hot dishes.

Good planning is key
In the kitchen, we work continuously to avoid waste. We refill the buffet little and often instead of all at once. Products are rotated between cafeterias to avoid expiration, and our lunch offerings are adapted to the shelf life of ingredients. We constantly test new methods to use ingredients nearing their expiration date to avoid food waste, and we focus on pure ingredients that tolerate more heat treatment and can be used in more ways than ultra-processed food.

We measure and improve
How much food waste do we actually have? Where does it occur and why? To find out, we measure food waste at our dining locations. This gives us valuable insights that we use to develop new initiatives. We also register products discarded due to shelf life or packaging damage.

Samskipnadens goal is to reduce food waste by 5% in 2026 compared with 2025 levels. In the first half of the year, we have achieved a 6% reduction!

Together we reach the goal
In April 2026 we joined the Industry Agreement on the Reduction of Food Waste and signed a partnership agreement with Matvett as part of the Cut Foodwaste in the Food service industry project. We are now part of a national collaboration between actors in the food production and service sector, working together toward the goal of halving food waste in Norway by 2030.

When you eat up the food you’ve bought, pick up a Too Good To Go bag, or buy food at a reduced price, you help us reach our goals.

• Samskipnadens goal is to reduce food waste by 5% in 2026 compared with 2025 levels. In the first half of the year, we have achieved a 6% reduction!
• 4975 items were sold at a reduced price during the first half of 2026 (1.2% of total sales).
• 756 food and kiosk items were discarded during the same period (0.2% of total sales).
• Food waste is now being measured in all staffed canteens, except for Markedet (at the School of Business and Economics in Tromsø).
• Too Good To Go at the MIX kiosk in Tromsø has saved 1760 meals since its launch in May 2023, and helped prevent 4,75 tons of CO₂ emissions.