4.Food waste has been a blind spot for most restaurants, whether they serve fast food or gourmet grub. LocoL’s desire to minimize its food waste is built into its founding principles, and has been a part of its menu-planning since day one.5.Institutional food (hospitals, prisons, schools, etc.) is the way it is mostly because the people at the top insist that it has to be that way. The public is told time and time again that there is simply no other way to feed the masses. If Choi and Patterson are able to prove that it doesn’t have to be that way — that food can be fast, healthy, and affordable — it will surely have a massive impact across the industry, and you’ll be thanking them next time you have to eat a hospital or school meal.And, no, in case you are wondering or there are any skeptics out there, this post was not paid for by LocoL. At a food conference last year, I was lucky enough to see Choi speak candidly about the project — which he has been working on for over two years now! — and he admitted that it is a huge risk that might fail, but he knew he had to do it anyway. He said something that has been a guiding principle for me ever since: