25th Mar 2008
Trayless Cafeterias
Here’s an interesting thought for you if you visit a cafeteria today: apparently the cafeteria tray encourages you to buy more and frequently waste more. I suppose that’s obvious, but on college campuses, trayless cafeterias seem to be saving quite a bit of solid and liquid waste.
Starting this semester, Alfred University, in New York, has gone to trayless in dining halls across campus, with the exception being for students with disabilities or those who need extra assistance. Green Alfred, a student group that promotes sustainable practices, along with others lobbied for the change.
Students ran a test last semester showing that on two days when trays weren’t offered, food and beverage waste dropped between 30 and 50 percent, according to Kathy Woughter, vice president for student affairs at Alfred. That amounts to about 1,000 pounds of solid waste and 112 gallons of liquid waste saved on a weekly basis, according to the college.
I went to one school where we served food onto our plates sans tray and there seemed to be far less waste than the school with the cafeteria trays. Not that anecdotal evidence proves anything; just mentioning it. And, of course, sometimes meal plans in college are all-inclusive, so you may pay the same no matter how much you eat (or waste).
Via Treehugger
That is shocking. I wouldn’t have thought of it. I guess it does make sense, psychologically. I’ve found I buy less if I have a small basket versus a cart at the grocery store, and eat less if I have a smaller plate. I know the feeling of putting something on a tray to “fill up” the space, and then never eating it.
I know there was a lot of wasted food at that one college I went to that shall remain nameless, but 30-50% is pretty shocking to me.
Of course, in a corporate cafeteria, when you are paying item by item, it’s easier not to overload.
I saw this story earlier (Treehugger?) and thought how this couple be useful when dieting, too. Because even when paying by the item, there is a tendency to get extra units (salad, desert, drink, snack for later) when there’s space on the tray.
I wonder what it is about the human psyche that needs to fill the tray. I certainly do it.
I’m even thinking that our oversized dinner plates should be put in the back of the pantry in favor of eating on salad plates.
It’s your inner chipmunk. Hoard!
Using salad plates or at least smaller dinner plates is a recommended diet technique. Not sure it’s something you need to worry about at this point, Ms. T.
My inner chipmunk is pretty hungry.
I think Anne P is right; we’re programmed to store, store, store. Especially food. And no, you should not be worrying about dieting, Ms. T!