2008 Woodie Awards
Students 'are eating with their eyes,' Dining attempts to minimize waste
Robert Preliasco
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: News
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"That's one of the big issues that I have, a lot of kids are eating with their eyes," McCullough said.
There is little that the university can do to prevent this kind of waste, McCullough said, because Dining Services has to cook as much food as is taken, not what is actually eaten. McCullough said that students should only take small portions of food at a time, especially of items they have not had before. If they like what they try and are still hungry, they can always return for seconds.
There has been no specific system for measuring the amount of food that students waste each day since the "weigh our waste" program that McCullough said happened five or six years ago. Student volunteers measured the amount of solid food waste in dining halls to spread awareness and encourage conservation. McCullough said the program was not continued after the students graduated.
McCullough said there is also no way to measure how much prepared food is un-served and becomes leftovers, because it varies day to day and for each type of food.
At the end of each semester, Dining Services donates all perishable leftovers to the St. James food pantry in Charlestown, which McCullough said feeds 200 families. He said St. James is not big enough to accept the volume of food that URI has to offer each semester, so the remainder goes to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank in Providence. Dining Services will also give leftover food for composting to anyone who requests it.
Today, McCullough said, Dining Services is focused on reducing the volume of garbage it produces. The new Hope Dining Hall has a Somat machine that takes all waste and processes it into a compact, odorless substance that McCullough described as being similar to oatmeal. He said that the machine could fit 25-trash-bags worth of refuse into half of a bag.
"This has really been a decent system for us," he said, adding, "The volume of trash that's reduced is pretty significant."
Due to its large size, McCullough said that a Somat machine probably could not fit into Butterfield Dining Hall, but one might be installed in the Ram's Den in the future.
There is little that the university can do to prevent this kind of waste, McCullough said, because Dining Services has to cook as much food as is taken, not what is actually eaten. McCullough said that students should only take small portions of food at a time, especially of items they have not had before. If they like what they try and are still hungry, they can always return for seconds.
There has been no specific system for measuring the amount of food that students waste each day since the "weigh our waste" program that McCullough said happened five or six years ago. Student volunteers measured the amount of solid food waste in dining halls to spread awareness and encourage conservation. McCullough said the program was not continued after the students graduated.
McCullough said there is also no way to measure how much prepared food is un-served and becomes leftovers, because it varies day to day and for each type of food.
At the end of each semester, Dining Services donates all perishable leftovers to the St. James food pantry in Charlestown, which McCullough said feeds 200 families. He said St. James is not big enough to accept the volume of food that URI has to offer each semester, so the remainder goes to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank in Providence. Dining Services will also give leftover food for composting to anyone who requests it.
Today, McCullough said, Dining Services is focused on reducing the volume of garbage it produces. The new Hope Dining Hall has a Somat machine that takes all waste and processes it into a compact, odorless substance that McCullough described as being similar to oatmeal. He said that the machine could fit 25-trash-bags worth of refuse into half of a bag.
"This has really been a decent system for us," he said, adding, "The volume of trash that's reduced is pretty significant."
Due to its large size, McCullough said that a Somat machine probably could not fit into Butterfield Dining Hall, but one might be installed in the Ram's Den in the future.