FOOD WASTE GOVERNANCE AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY AS A PUBLIC VALUE MANAGEMENT MODEL FOR FOOD SECURITY, CULINARY MSME EFFICIENCY, AND URBAN SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

Food waste has become a critical issue in urban food systems because it is not only related to environmental burden, but also to operational inefficiency, food cost leakage, weak demand planning, and the loss of potential public value. Globally, food waste at the retail, food service, and household levels reached approximately 1.05 billion tonnes in 2022, while Indonesia faces significant food loss and waste that creates economic, environmental, and food security consequences. Culinary Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), restaurants, catering businesses, hotels, markets, and food service providers often generate food waste from damaged stock, overproduction, unsold food, consumer leftovers, and unmanaged organic waste. This article aims to formulate a public value management model for food waste governance and circular economy to strengthen food security, culinary MSME efficiency, and urban sustainability. This study employs a conceptual qualitative approach through narrative literature review, policy document analysis, and contextual synthesis of food waste practices in culinary MSMEs and urban food service ecosystems. The findings indicate that food waste should not be treated merely as a waste management problem, but as a managerial issue involving stock control, demand forecasting, portion standardization, food cost monitoring, surplus food redistribution, and circular waste processing. This article proposes an integrative model based on seven pillars: food waste literacy, operational waste control, digital food waste monitoring, surplus food redistribution, circular waste processing, food cost efficiency, and urban public value. The contribution of this article lies in positioning food waste governance as a strategic management approach that connects culinary MSME efficiency, food security, social redistribution, circular economy, and sustainable urban governance.