Single and two-phase operations were compared at mesophilic operating conditions using a digester system consisting of three 5-m(3) reactors treating food waste generated daily within the university campus kitchens. When normalizing the methane production to the daily feedstock characteristics, significantly greater methane was produced during two-phase mesophilic digestion compared to the single-stage operation (methane yield of 380 vs 446-L CH4 kg VS-1; 359 vs 481-L CH4 kg COD-1 removed for single vs two stage operation). The fermentation reactor could be maintained reliably even under very low loading rates (0.79 +/- 0.16 kg COD m(-3) d(-1)) maintaining a steady state pH of 5.2. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.