Category Archives: College

Friday Buffet

For you science-minded folks, here’s the Table of Condiments that Periodically Go Bad. I love the idea and the title, but disagree with some of the cautious estimates. When was the last time you threw away ketchup after five months (or spelled it ‘ketsup’)? — — This blogger and I could be fast friends. Check […]

February 15, 2008 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, Household, International, Restaurant, Trayless | Comments closed

Mass. Waste

I’ve often come across waste studies that estimate how much food isn’t eaten in a city or state. Since researchers aren’t sorting and weighing food waste at every home and restaurant, I often wonder how they come up with the estimates. Now I have an answer. Page five of this 2002 Massachusetts food waste study […]

February 14, 2008 | Also posted in Institutional, Stats | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Expect some laid back composting at Jack Johnson’s Kokua Festival in Honolulu. While I’m diggin’ the concert’s sweet poster, all I can picture right now is Andy Samberg’s J.J. Casuals SNL faux-mercial. — — Might Massachusetts ban commercial food waste from landfills? — — In the wake of Harvard’s experiment to do away with trays […]

February 7, 2008 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, Trayless, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Zeitgeist: Thrift

How do I know this trayless dining hall thing is really taking off? Harvard is giving it a whirl. As The Harvard Crimson reports, Quincy House will eliminate trays during Thursday dinners in February. While four nights isn’t a huge commitment, that hasn’t stopped students from complaining. To wit, this whiny lead: The daily challenge […]

February 5, 2008 | Also posted in History and Culture, Trayless | Comments closed

Tray(less) Day

The trayless college dining experiment is spreading and so are the media hits. An article in Inside Higher Ed about the practice led to a brief blog post on The Wall Street Journal‘s site. The Inside Higher Ed piece provided a nice detail to illustrate that some students, notably big eaters, oppose traylessness. Members of […]

January 31, 2008 | Also posted in Stats | Comments closed

UCan do it, UConn

The trayless trend continues at college cafeterias…(who-hoo!) As reported by its student newspaper, the University of Connecticut (UConn) will eschew trays at its Whitney Dining Hall in February. The environmental awareness campaign will begin with awareness day, then kick in the next Monday before running seven days the following week. While the program’s main focus […]

January 30, 2008 | Posted in College | Comments closed

Technical Difficulties

I recently came across two seldom considered causes of food waste: electrical and mechanical. Power outages, if they last long enough, can cause individuals and restaurants (small ones without a backup generator) to toss their perishables. As restaurants in Somerville, Mass., found out, this can be quite costly. In addition, the loss of food is […]

January 29, 2008 | Also posted in Restaurant | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Thought I’d pass along a few helpful household hints for minimizing waste. Thanks, Little Jelly’s Belly. — — On to one of my favorite topics: cafeteria traylessness. New York’s Morrisville State College is doing a Trayless on Tuesdays experiment in February. If that’s not cool enough, they’re raffling off a Zune just for participating. Insert […]

January 25, 2008 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, Household | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

The Ball Sate University student paper had a behind-the-scenes look at college cafeteria dishwashing. In addition to making me want French toast sticks, the article provided this insight:  Sophomore dishwasher Sara Morand, a chemistry and theater studies major, said students left waste constantly, especially unopened food, which the washers had to throw away. — — Sticking […]

December 7, 2007 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, Restaurant | Comments closed

The Weekly Waste Word: Use by the Apocalypse

At the beginning of most weeks, I give tips on how to avoid wasting food. Today we’ll talk about when “best before” or “use by” dates can be ignored.  My legal team advises me here that I should stipulate that I’m not a trained food scientist. True, but there are times when use-by dates are just silly. This […]

November 19, 2007 | Also posted in Household, The Weekly Waste Word | Comments closed