On any given day, you could find Ty Burrell, his wife and two daughters heroically jumping in the car to rescue food on its way to the landfill.
A WasteLess Solutions “food rescue” is as simple as opening a notification that food needs to be picked up at a nearby restaurant, farm, grocery store or event center, driving to the location for pick-up, and dropping the delivery off at a food bank, women’s shelter or similar organization. Even individual trees can be registered for harvest.
“I found it’s a really great thing with the whole family, because it does feel a little bit like a scavenger hunt,” Burrell says. “You get instructions like: Go to the window, hit the green button, go through, and there’s a sweet old man who tells you to say the password, ‘Blackbird, blackbird, snow falls at night.’ I’m exaggerating, but it feels that way.”
Burrell, who played Phil Dunphy in “Modern Family,” is an actor and entrepreneur who bought his first place in Utah with his wife, Holly, in 2008, moved to Utah full time in 2020, and has been pouring into the Salt Lake City business community since. WasteLess is one organization he passionately supports with his wife, because its mission to reduce food waste aligns with his entrepreneurial ventures and values.
As co-owner and co-founder of the Bar X Group, which includes the restaurants Bar X, Beer Bar, The Cotton Bottom and The Eating Establishment, Burrell’s opportunity to reduce food waste is tangible.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 30-40% of the country’s food supply goes to waste, a problem many organizations have been pushing to mitigate since 2015 through protocols and programs, including becoming a U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champion.
Utah’s WasteLess Solutions is the actionable solution to local food waste. Kathryn Buntain, the director of food rescue operations at WasteLess, says Utah throws away over 600,000 tons of food every year, which equates to $1.5 billion and contributes significantly to methane emissions, resulting in harmful greenhouse gases.
In 2025, WasteLess rescued 566,941 pounds of food from reaching landfills, the equivalent of serving 468,766 meals to community members, which is a triumph considering 445,000 Utahns are experiencing food insecurity, and rising costs aren’t improving that number.
“That number is only going up as the population in our state grows,” Buntain says. “When we throw away food, we throw away the land, labor, water and resources used to produce the food.”
Burrell says Beer Bar was the first WasteLess-certified Utah business, which means they are not only donating excess food, they also have processes in place to prevent excess food in the first place.
“WasteLess will go through your business, help you to be more efficient and point out ways in which you can reuse products and impact ordering,” Burrell says. “It’s a win-win, especially when food costs are so high.”
WasteLess works with smaller operations, such as Bar X, up to large operations, such as the Delta Center, where massive amounts of food expectedly go into the garbage, Burrell says. Food rescue operations are in full swing throughout northern Utah.
“We need Utah businesses to join the movement in significant food waste reduction for a more sustainable food system across Utah,” Buntain says. “The largest sector where food waste happens across the U.S. is from consumer homes and consumer-facing businesses, together accounting for 56% of all surplus food in the supply chain. Food waste is a major contributor to climate change and is a huge economic loss.”
Burrell says getting involved with WasteLess as a business is important to the Bar X Group’s greater role in supporting the business community and the overall community.
“This is all credit to the other owners,” Burrell says. “There’s always been a [sense] that we’re [at our] best, serving everybody well, when we’re thinking about the community. It’s in our best interest, too. … A rising tide lifts all boats, and we want to be supportive of other businesses.”
Individuals and businesses who want to get involved with WasteLess can attend the Pickled for a Purpose Classic pickleball tournament at 3 p.m. on May 2 at Sports Mall to learn more about the organization and begin playing a part in curbing food waste.
