Category Archives: College

Friday Buffet

The Econovore and I may disagree on how to avoid it, but we both abhor waste. I’d love to have a beer with her, but I’m sure I’d get stuck with the tab. Oh well, it’d probably be worth it to get a few of her “flexipes” that could preclude so much waste. — — [...]

April 24, 2009 | Also posted in Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, International, Trayless | Leave a comment

Friday Buffet

Bon Appetit Management Company, primarily a college food service company, have already reached their year-end carbon reduction goals, including some admirable food waste reduction milestones. Kudos, guys. — — Two opposing Ivy League op-eds: one from the Yale Daily News that’s against waste and one from The Daily Princetonian that only occasionally makes sense. — — [...]

April 10, 2009 | Also posted in Composting, Environment, Friday Buffet, Household, Trayless | 1 Comment

Studying Traylessness

I was talking with food psychology guru Brian Wansink yesterday (he of the portion studies involving refilling bowls, different shaped glasses and stale popcorn). Back at Cornell after his USDA stint, Wansink casually dropped the news that he just started a two-part study on trayless dining. My ears perked up as Wansink described how he [...]

April 8, 2009 | Also posted in Trayless | 4 Comments

Serving Waste

While we’ve talked about traylessness for a while, that’s not the only way to reduce college food waste. It appears that whether or not the food is self-serve or dished out by cafeteria staff makes a world of difference. At least it did at East Tennessee State. One dining hall at the Johnson City school [...]

April 6, 2009 | Posted in College | 4 Comments

Friday Buffet

While we’re all fired up about Seattle, let’s not forget how progressive San Francisco’s composting program is. — — I’m not quite sure what to think when a conscious food squanderer writes about changing her ways. I’m still trying to remain calm after struggling through the first part of her column. — — There’s a new [...]

April 3, 2009 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, Household, International | 4 Comments

Trays Abolished!

Huzzah! Before lighting out for Europe, President Obama issued an executive order banning the use of cafeteria trays in federally-funded all-you-can-eat facilities. All colleges and universities that accept government money will have until August to cease using trays or risk losing their funding and, possibly, accreditation. Sorry to say it, but…April Fool’s!! Oh well. Maybe [...]

April 1, 2009 | Also posted in General, Trayless | 5 Comments

Exchanging Food Online, soon?

The Dell Social Innovation Competition is on right now. The $50,000 competition calls on college students worldwide to come up with ideas to change our planet. A humble goal, but a noble one. Anyway, one of the entries proposes to link food donors with food banks and soup kitchens via the Web. This joint venture [...]

March 31, 2009 | Also posted in Food Recovery, Hunger, Technology | 2 Comments

Friday Buffet

Things are looking grim for a potential California bill that would allow catering customers to demand that their excess food be donated. After having her bill rebuffed last year, State Sen. Jenny Oropeza has decided to take a slow steady approach this year. It seems like a victory for the loose coalition of intertia, fear [...]

March 27, 2009 | Also posted in Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Legislation, Supermarket, Trayless, Tree Gleaning | 3 Comments

Trayless Tuesday

Yesterday, I trekked up to Maine to see the traylessness facilitated by Bon Appetit at Saint Joseph’s College. As anyone who’s read this blog before would guess, I was enthralled by the approach to food there. One of the subtleties I hadn’t considered was the way students approach their meals. From what I saw and [...]

March 25, 2009 | Also posted in Trayless | 2 Comments

Trayless Travels

Today I’m making a pilgrimage, of sorts. No, not to Mecca, but to Maine. I’m visiting Saint Joseph’s College home of the trayless dining movement. There, I’ll speak with Stuart Leckie, the general manager of dining, who had the simple idea of removing trays to curb food waste. What began at this tiny Standish, Maine, [...]

March 24, 2009 | Also posted in Trayless | 4 Comments
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