WASHINGTON – Around 31% of the U.S. food supply ends up in the garbage, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That's a whopping 133 billion pounds of food, based on 2010 data, Restaurant Hospitality reports.

Meanwhile, diners don't eat around 17% of meals on average, and more than half of potential leftovers never leave the restaurant. The USDA puts one restaurant's food waste at between 25,000 pounds and 75,000 pounds annually. Two years ago, the EPA and the USDA set a goal to slash those numbers in half by 2030.

To that end, the National Restaurant Association, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute joined together to create the Food Waste Reduction Alliance. From the alliance, here are seven ways to lower your foodservice waste.

1. Conduct waste assessments, either yourself or through your vendors.
2. Track waste expenditures.
3. Reduce the source of waste by tracking inventory and buying appropriately.
4. Feed the hungry by donating unserved prepared food to hunger relief organizations.
5. Feed the animals. Many states allow farmers to turn unused raw food into animal feed.
6. Find industrial uses, such as converting fats, greases or oils into biofuel.
7. Compost non-edible table scraps, spoiled food or vegetable/fruit peels.