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Students at Missouri are apparently cool with trayless dining. Also–there’s a student paper called The Maneater?!

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A UK restaurant was caught dumping food waste into their neighbor’s dumpster. Oops.

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Unilever is hoping to help food service companies Wise up on Waste.

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Let me know if I missed anything else in the food waste world late last week–I was busy welcoming my second child into the world (while trying hard not to notice the abundant hospital food waste)!

Yet, I was disappointed to learn that the school’s dining halls still had trays. But…they’re trying. While they make trays available–because of overcrowding at meal times, the dining services folks said–this sign is posted right above where they’re stacked.

I love how the poster clearly lists the four rationales for traylessness: eat less, waste less, save water, save electricity. Of course, I’d put the second one first…

Anyway, right after students have decided to use or forgo a tray, they’re hit with another poster (made by ND’s crack in-house designer). Kinda cool, eh?

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As any college student knows, the cafeteria is a central locus of student interaction. It’s where we congregate to share the latest gossip, to commiserate over grades, and to just talk about what matters to us. It’s also where most students living on-campus consume their meals. At my own college cafeteria, the food wasn’t always great, but there were options aplenty–the carnivore section, the vegetarian section, the hamburger/pizza/fries section, the cereal dispensers, the salad bar, and so on. This abundance of choice astounded me when I first started school as a freshman.

Armed with a tray and an appetite, I’d navigate through the various sections, picking what looked good or at least smelled good. Something I noticed was that there are three very distinct types of eaters those who’d go straight for the same thing every day like pizza, those who’d inspect their food carefully before setting it on their trays, and those who’d grab a sampling of pretty much everything, the merits of which would be decided upon being seated. The latter was by far the most popular method of food selection. It was easy enough, as the trays provided ample space to fit everything.

But the waste I witnessed was astounding. By the time dinner was over, trashcans were filled with uneaten food. Since my father is a farmer who comes from a long line of family farmers, food waste was always considered a sin at home.  I can’t even count the number of times my father would say how important it was to finish everything.  I think being more intimately acquainted with where the food came from that it takes money and hard work to bring what we eat to the table, no matter where we buy it made my family understand and respect its importance more. Seeing all the waste at college thus came as a huge culture shock.
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When I returned for school my senior year, my campus had gone trayless. Among seniors especially, who had become so accustomed to eating with trays, talking about the change at dinner was a perennial topic of discussion. Reactions ranged from annoyed to furious. I heard everything from “how am I supposed to take my food up to my room now?” to “our school is getting cheap on us” to “this is going to make standing in line even worse.” Many students were suspicious of the reasons for eliminating trays, suggesting that the environmental benefits were being exaggerated only because the school wanted to save some money.

I myself was at first cynical about traylessness. I didn’t think it would make much of difference, regardless of the intentions behind the initiative. But then after a week or two, I noticed substantive changes in my own behavior and my fellow diners’.  People stayed at meals longer. We ate more slowly, since those who wanted seconds waited until the foot traffic slowed down. The whole experience just became more enjoyable and relaxed. And, being someone who was raised to be sensitive about food waste, I noticed specifically that trashcans were not overflowing when I left the cafeteria.

Eventually the grumbling about the lack of trays subsided, grumbling that I suspect comes with adjusting to pretty much any change from the normal routine. The freshmen, who hadn’t known a college dining experience with trays at all, didn’t have much to say on the topic because they had never known what having trays was like in the first place. Having made the trayless transition, I firmly believe that all schools should try it out, and not simply give up after a few weeks of student complaints. It’s really such a simple idea, one that encourages more mindful dining. I know it makes a difference because I’ve seen it first-hand. You don’t have to be an environmental activist to see the advantages of creating a more social dining experience, in which mealtimes are for enjoying food and company, and not just for mindless grazing before moving on with our busy lives.

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Alvina welcomes your comments either below or via email: alvina.lopez [at] gmail [dot] com



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Wait, there’s a composting operation in Las Vegas?! Things are looking up. Then again…A1 organics is generating complaints from neighbors (who moved into homes in an industrial area).

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UK food retailer Waitrose is stepping up its use of anaerobic digestion by diverting all food waste from its corporate headquarters to an AD facility. That’s a lot of tea bags. And it isn’t too surprising, given their commitment to the waste-to-energy technology.

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Here’s a thoughtful look at the balance of convenience and conservation with trayless dining at Stanford, where it hasn’t been adopted campus-wide (yet). The piece highlights the benefits, but also reminds us that sustainability is a big picture kind of thing:

“I think it’s ridiculous because here you are, making people feel guilty because you’re using trays … and at the same time every night at midnight you’ve got water spraying everywhere on the lawn,” said Julien Nakache, who is visiting from France.

And so…Bon Appetit Management Company (BAMCO) recently announced its food waste reduction plan. For the next 12 weeks, the Palo Alto-based food service provider will be:

• Educating chefs and kitchen staff on the negative environmental impact of food waste
• Distributing educational tools to kitchen staff on proper portioning and prepping techniques
• A weekly waste monitoring program in all kitchens that includes weighing and measuring food scraps in the kitchens as well as as dishes are returned by customers in the café

The waste reduction campaign is part of BAMCO’s Low Carbon Diet program. And not surprisingly, it corresponds with the works of the nonprofit BAMCO Foundation, which aims to make food service more sustainable.

Come April, we’ll hear back from BAMCO on how they’ve fared with their campaign. I’m anxious to hear the results, as the company has trimmed 20 percent of their waste just in the last few years.

Thus far, BAMCO has been a real leader in the field of institutional waste reduction. That’s why I was surprised to read that only about half of the eligible venues they serve are trayless. I had them pegged for 100%! Perhaps come April…

To follow up on the Buy One Get One Free-Later idea, a poorly-worded survey found that 58 percent believe the ability to get the free item later would reduce supermarket waste. But…the idea is aimed at reducing household waste.

Also, here’s one objection to the idea, on the grounds that the retailer will profit when shoppers lose their vouchers or don’t use them. Even though I’m sure that will happen some, I still like the scheme if you can choose whether to get the item now or later. And I haven’t been able to get an answer on that.

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You cannot be serious! I know some of you think I should chill out on the food fight hating, but does anyone think a flinging aid needs to exist? (HT to the Non-Consumer Advocate, who I’m sure will not be buying one.)

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Glad to hear there has been an “overwhelmingly positive response” to trayless dining at Princeton. Here’s sophomore Erik Zyman on the change:

“It may be slightly less convenient, but I think we can all take a hit for the environment.”

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You tell ‘em, Tristram!

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This “service” from a UK waste hauler is so messed up:

We are also able to offer a unique service for the secure destruction of retail packed food and drink products, with a certificate of destruction to ensure the finite destruction of products and complete peace of mind of our customers.

Because I know I won’t rest easy until my company’s food has been destroyed!

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Here’s a priveleged response to traylessness at Stanford (where trays are still available on request). In my opinion, there are a few legit gripes about not having trays, but this writer hits none of them. I quite enjoyed this comment in response:

I’m sorry you have to request a tray instead of being handed one. I guess you’re used to being handed things in your life. Go away.

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But that’s just one viewpoint on campus… The Stanford Project on Nutrition (SPOON) more than makes up for the above sillyness with their mid-90s video on food recovery. All that’s missing is a soundtrack with period music from Alanis or Hootie. On second thought, it’s perfect.

And for more current news, SPOON recently joined the blogosphere.
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On the other side of the globe, here’s one man’s take on food waste in India.

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Honestly, who wastes milk on purpose? You don’t see OPEC spraying oil on the ground to keep supply at the right level. What’s that? Milk is perishable? Rrrrright. But still…

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Good to see the (tennis) U.S. Open is composting the food scraps from its central kitchens, but why not have composting bins on the concourse for fans? We’ll call it deuce.

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Fuel from beer, wine and tequila waste? We’re one step closer to the Mr. Fusion becoming a reality. Guess that makes sense because Doc Brown had the contraption on his DeLorean when returning from 2015, which, scarily, isn’t too far off. 

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It must be around Labor Day if there’s talk of traylessness. Yale’s Commons Dining Hall is experimenting with going trayless by trying it on a week-to-week basis. BUT, Yale won’t remove trays from residential dining halls because the increased trips would cause “congestion.” Heaven forbid!

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Here’s a bit more info about Costco composting, which I wrote about on Wednesday. While headed in the right direction, they’re only separating organics at a few California stores. The best part is that the food scraps are sent to a worm composter, whose wigglers create a fertilizer sold in some Costco locations.

Anyway, without further ado, I present what I’m pretty sure is a first: a scholarly study on traylessness.

It was written by my food-waste friend Andy Sarjahani and two of his Virginia Tech colleagues, Elena Serrano and Rick Johnson. The study stemmed from a two-week experiment Andy ran back in 2008, when he weighed waste with and without trays. 

There are a few ways of counting the reduced waste. If you use the total weight of tossed food, Tech had 30 percent less edible compostable (EC) waste without trays (I got 29.6%). But by comparing the mean waste per meal (as in Table 1), traylessness brought a 41 percent reduction.

One surprising result, as seen in Table 2, was the difference in waste at different meals. Food waste increased 76 percent from lunch to dinner. I’d guess that this probably reflects students eating quick lunches between classes and differing cultural perceptions of lunch and dinner.

The study also includes the following ideas on what food service companies can add:

Economic incentives for students not to waste, such as à la carte pricing; small batch cooking; sourcing locally grown and in-season foods; donating appropriate and safe leftovers to food banks and/or shelters; and composting what cannot be donated. Finally, educational efforts targeted toward students (and food service personnel) are essential in promoting awareness and supporting sustainable practices and any proposed changes.

In total, the paper is a nice piece of work, not surprising since the original project was partly responsible for the school going trayless in July 2008 and Andy getting hired as Tech’s Sustainability Director.

One final note: Andy has opined on multiple occasions that trays aren’t the real problem; all-you-can-eat is. As I quoted Andy in my original post on the study:

I think “all-you-can-eat” is really the culprit. Going trayless is like a cortisone shot—it treats the problem on the surface, but not at the root.

I agree, but removing trays is a pragmatic first step to reduce food waste.

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A Little Caesars franchisee in Florida recently started donating all unsold pizzas to a United Way soup kitchen. Never having lived in a Little Caesar’s state (despite enduring their ads), I couldn’t imagine why they had so much excess until I saw this photo. And while it’s happy news from Florida, think of what’s happening in many other places: 

Little Caesars had been routinely throwing out food because it was considered wasted after 30 minutes, Rettig said. 

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I guess the editors at The News-Press, of Fort Meyers, had food waste on their minds.

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Here’s an idea for a fridge that would reduce waste and enable composting. I don’t quite get how it helps you see what’s in it (wouldn’t clear doors be better?) but having a compost bin right in your kitchen would be handy. Anyway, it’s a neat idea.

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I enjoyed this headline. Encouraging tray news abounds.

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Finally, here are some tips about fridge and freezer use that could ultimately prevent food from experiencing a premature demise.