Donation management for menu planning at soup kitchens

The model is used to assess the impact of contracts on a strategic or tactical level, and captures operational decision making due to the integration of donation management and menu planning. To deal with meal variety considerations and to resemble planning practices, the developed model is solved in a rolling horizon. The results show that (i) the use of donations reduces overall costs for the soup kitchen; (ii) despite the short shelf life of donations, most donations can be used efficiently; and (iii) meal variety can be easily ensured and food donations increase this variety. In addition to the benefits for soup kitchens, the approach has implications for waste reduction in food supply chains, by structural/contractual donations of surplus food by retailers.