Category Archives: College

Friday Buffet

Might we see curbside food waste collection in Ohio? Some towns near Columbus are considering it. — — 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 […]

May 22, 2009 | Also posted in Composting, Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Household, Restaurant, Trayless | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Here’s a story on the lifecycle environmental impact of one manufacturer’s heat-and-eat chili. Very interesting stuff, especially the trade off between packaging waste and food loss. — — The San Jose Hazmat team was called in to handle the stench from an office fridge. Seven were sent to the hospital. Just a sad day for […]

May 15, 2009 | Also posted in Events, Farm, Friday Buffet, International, Trayless | Comments closed

Movin’ Out

College move out day: a boon for townies in the market for desk chairs, small rugs and smaller fridges. It provides a fabulous opportunity for food donation, one that they’re taking advantage of at Vanderbilt. The same goes for UConn. There, the Office of Environmental Policy is encouraging donations by calling upon the school’s hoops pedigree through the “Give and […]

May 7, 2009 | Posted in College | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Road Foodsters Jane and Michael Stern were discussing their pizza-eating preferences on last weekend’s The Splendid Table when the conversation turned to uneaten crusts. Jane is a serial pizza bone leaver, but that hubby Michael is the beneficiary. Then host Lynne Rossetto Kasper announced that she’s not above asking her fellow diners if they’re planning […]

May 1, 2009 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, Hunger, Restaurant | Comments closed

Trayless Times and a Neat Idea

Two items of business today: 1. The New York Times found the idea of trayless dining fit to print. While I’d hoped for a bit more attention on just how much food waste can be avoided, I thought the writer did a nice job reporting the topic. And I really enjoyed this seldom-discussed rationale for […]

April 30, 2009 | Also posted in Household, Trayless | Comments closed

Wesleyan To Drop Tray

I’ve stopped noting when individual schools go trayless because it has become too hard to keep track (a great problem to have, of course). But I have to make an exception here with the news that my alma mater, Wesleyan, is going trayless next fall. That said, I’m curious what the heck took such an […]

April 28, 2009 | Also posted in Energy, Trayless | Comments closed

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 | Comments closed

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 | Comments closed

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 | Comments closed

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 | Comments closed