Category Archives: Trayless

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 | Posted in Trayless | Comments closed

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 | Posted in Trayless | Comments closed

Department of Split Hairs

Let’s say you’re a food service provider like Sodexo (bear with me). In the name of sustainability, you remove trays from a university dining hall. Then you save about $25K through avoided food waste and water/energy use. Should you: a.) Apply those savings to next year’s meal plan fees? b.) Donate the savings to a […]

March 17, 2009 | Also posted in College, Environment | Comments closed

Trays a la carte

Loyal WF reader Dan Livingston recently e-mailed in with this question: Is there any rationale for going trayless in a non-all-you-can eat setting? If diners pay for each item, do trays encourage waste? As far as I know, traylessness isn’t useful for reducing waste in an a la carte setting. But maybe some of you have experiences that […]

February 19, 2009 | Also posted in General | Comments closed

Bull(dog)ish on Waste

Ever vigilant in the face of enviromental challenges, the editorial board at Yale’s student paper doffed their top hats and canes and tried out this trayless business. Their conclusion: “Keep Trays in Dining Halls.” These are obviously bright people, which makes it even more puzzling that after recognizing the environmental benefits of traylessness, they’d choose […]

February 3, 2009 | Posted in Trayless | Comments closed

Trayless = Pay Less?

I was thrilled to see the guys at Freakonomics address the topic of traylessness. It’s nice exposure for the issue and will hopefully sway the three remaining colleges who still use trays to abandon them. (Fine, there are a few more than that. Seriously, though, if you’re still using trays, it’s time.) But…as a few […]

January 14, 2009 | Also posted in College, General | Comments closed

Happy Returns

I’m finally back home, after a relaxing, leftover-sandwich-filled Thanksgiving trip. No sooner did I return than I found this AP story on food waste. After paying so much attention to household food waste, with Thanksgiving, let’s return our gaze to the hospitality industry and institutional kitchens. I’m encouraged to hear that Virginia Tech has cut […]

December 1, 2008 | Also posted in Casino, College, Restaurant | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Here are some ideas on Obama’s food policy. Strange that there’s no mention of a Food Waste Czar. He must want to keep it hush-hush. — — Reminder: Nov 26 is your last chance to submit your comments on the proposed Green Seal Environmental Standard for Restaurants. — — OK, University of New Mexico, it’s […]

November 14, 2008 | Also posted in College, Composting, General, Processing Plants, Restaurant | Comments closed

Campus Environmentalism: Sustained

Yesterday was Campus Sustainability Day. Yeah, I missed it, too. The good news is that all these schools didn’t. In honor of that day, ARAMARK put out a nice press release reviewing their work in making college food service more sustainable. Not content to simply cut food waste, ARAMARK hopes to reach the rarefied air […]

October 23, 2008 | Also posted in College | Comments closed

Trayless Update

Hook ’em, Horns! The University of Texas is considering going trayless. While I’m obviously biased towards traylessness, I try to keep an open mind toward other opinions. This rationale, however, makes no sense: “I think if you have a tray, it’s a whole lot easier to see what you’re taking,” said UT student Katie Koehler. “So […]

October 3, 2008 | Also posted in College, General | Comments closed