News 2018: Reducing Food Waste in the Marketplace

Dining Services is leading the way to a greener future and creating innovative sustainability initiatives.

Dining Services created a number of initiatives with the goal of limiting food waste at the Marketplace.

The Marketplace features tray-less dining and the option to use smaller plates. Both initiatives ultimately create less food waste, as well as promoting healthier eating habits through portion control.

“The smaller plates we have in the Marketplace allow students to try a dish before taking an entire portion of it,” Ed Gilmore, Director of Dining Services said.

Dining Services utilizes “TrimTrax,” a food reduction program, to track, measure and reduce the amount of kitchen food waste in the facilities on campus. This program allows the University to make operational decisions that limit that amount of food that is thrown away.

Project Clean Plate, a once-per-semester event, was developed to create awareness of the issues and implications of food waste among students.

“We can use the results garnered from these programs to educate our students on the negative impact of food waste,” Gilmore said. “When they see just how much food is wasted on average, it really causes them to see things in a different way.”