Position Summary

Make Food Not Waste is seeking a practical, relationship-oriented Program Manager to lead Plate to Planet, a new initiative helping independent restaurants across Southeast Michigan reduce food waste while improving their operations.

This is a hands-on, restaurant-facing position. The Program Manager will recruit and build relationships with restaurant owners and operators, spend time inside restaurants understanding their operations, identify opportunities to reduce waste and save money, and help restaurants put practical changes into place.

Plate to Planet is a new program, so we are looking for someone who is comfortable trying things, listens well, and can help us figure out what kinds of support restaurants actually value and will use.

This is a three-year funded program.

Position Responsibilities

Recruit and Engage Restaurants

Build relationships with independent restaurant owners, chefs, managers, and staff
Recruit approximately 25–40 restaurants to participate during the first year
Conduct introductory conversations to understand operators’ priorities, challenges, and needs
Develop participation through personal outreach, referrals, restaurant networks, and community partners

Work Directly with Restaurants

Visit participating restaurants and learn how their operations work
Conduct simple assessments of purchasing, inventory, storage, prep, production, portioning, surplus food, donation, and disposal practices
Identify a small number of realistic opportunities to reduce waste, improve efficiency, and save money

Provide Practical Food Waste Support

Depending on each restaurant’s needs, assistance may include support in:

Purchasing and inventory management
Prep and production planning
Portioning and knife skills
Waste tracking and measurement
Food donation systems
Food scrap collection and composting
Staff education and engagement
Other operational changes that reduce wasted food

Build the Plate to Planet Community

Organize quarterly gatherings where participating operators can learn from one another
Identify restaurant leaders who can become champions for the program
Help create a network that restaurants see as genuinely useful to their businesses

Track Results and Help Shape the Program

Establish simple baseline information with participating restaurants
Track changes restaurants make and results such as reduced food waste, cost savings, increased donation, or increased diversion where measurable
Regularly ask operators what’s useful, what isn’t, and what they need
Document success stories and lessons learned
Work with MFNW leadership to refine Plate to Planet based on what we learn
Participate in learning and evaluation activities associated with the funder

Who We’re Looking For

We’re especially interested in someone who understands restaurants and can build trust with busy restaurant operators. You may have worked as a restaurant general manager, chef, food service operator, restaurant consultant, hospitality professional, food distributor representative, account manager, or in another role that gave you a strong understanding of how restaurants operate.

You should be someone who:

Is a strong communicator, both verbally and in writing
Is knowledgeable about food waste reduction in restaurants or is willing to learn—training will be provided
Enjoys talking with restaurant owners, chefs, managers, and staff
Understands the realities and pressures of running a restaurant
Can walk through an operation, ask good questions, and spot opportunities
Is practical, resourceful, and solutions-oriented
Builds relationships easily and follows through on commitments
Is comfortable reaching out to people you don’t already know
Can manage relationships with many businesses at once
Is comfortable experimenting and changing course when something isn’t working
Can collect and document information without making the process burdensome for restaurants
Is motivated by helping independent restaurants succeed

Experience

Restaurant or food service experience is strongly preferred. Experience in consulting, coaching, technical assistance, account management, sales, sustainability, or small-business support would also be valuable.

Knowledge of food waste prevention, food donation, or composting is helpful but not required.

Compensation and Schedule

This is a part-time position averaging 25–30 hours per week.

The position is remote, with significant time spent visiting restaurants and meeting with partners throughout Detroit and Metro Detroit. Some evening availability may occasionally be needed for restaurant meetings or Plate to Planet gatherings.

This position does not include benefits.

What Success Looks Like

During the first year, the Program Manager will help engage approximately 25–40 independent restaurants while helping Make Food Not Waste determine which services, interventions, and engagement strategies provide the greatest value to operators.

We will consider the first year successful if participating restaurants are making practical changes, seeing measurable improvements where possible, staying engaged, and recommending Plate to Planet to other operators.

The Program Manager will play a central role in helping us understand what restaurants need, what they will actually implement, and how Plate to Planet can grow into a valuable and sustainable regional restaurant network.

About Make Food Not Waste

Make Food Not Waste is working to help Michigan cut food waste in half by 2030. We work with communities, schools, businesses, governments, and residents to prevent food waste, rescue surplus food, and keep food scraps out of landfills.

Plate to Planet builds on our previous work with restaurants and is intentionally designed to be flexible, practical, and responsive to the realities of restaurant operations.

To Apply

Email a cover letter summarizing your interest in this position and your resume to Danielle Todd at danielle@makefoodnotwaste.org.

We will be filling this position quickly and will respond to emails as they arrive.

Make Food Not Waste

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Plate to Planet Program Manager