By Joana Karoshi | Staff Writer
College dining halls produce large amounts of food waste each year, prompting universities to experiment with programs that reduce waste and donate surplus food.
Baylor dining operations produced about 360,000 pounds of food waste last year, according to Benton, Ark., junior Lochlan Walsh, a sustainability intern with Baylor Eats.
Baylor Eats has introduced several initiatives aimed at reducing that number, including a new program called Sic ’Em Sampling, developed in partnership with University Innovation Fellows, which allows students to taste food before adding it to their plates.
“We’re trying to do this so that students can try something before they actually put it on their plate,” Walsh said.
The sampling stations, located in dining halls across campus, are designed to reduce plate waste by allowing students to test unfamiliar menu items before committing to a full portion. Walsh said Baylor Eats plans to measure the program’s success through student feedback and by monitoring food waste trends over time.
Baylor Eats also tracks food waste in its dining halls using a digital system that allows kitchen staff to record discarded food and monitor patterns in waste production. According to Haleigh Dean, senior marketing director for Baylor Eats, staff input food waste data into a tablet system used in the kitchens. The system helps dining teams identify trends and adjust the quantities they prepare.
“It is an actual tablet where, in the back of the house, we have everything inputted so it provides us tracking,” Dean said. “With all that tracking, we can see those trends and adjust our production beforehand.”
Walsh said much of the waste in dining halls comes from plate waste after students have already served themselves. She added that waste-tracking efforts have confirmed that leftover food on students’ plates accounts for a significant share of dining hall waste.
In addition to reducing waste at the source, Baylor Eats has implemented several programs to manage food that would otherwise be discarded. Food that cannot be recovered is sent to composting facilities to reduce its environmental impact. Surplus food that remains safe to eat may also be donated through partnerships with Waco-area organizations.
Walsh said Baylor Eats also collects unopened or prepackaged food items from dining locations across campus and donates them to community partners such as the Salvation Army.
“Last semester, we recovered over 2,000 pounds of food,” Walsh said.
The food recovery initiative is also connected to efforts to address food insecurity among students. Walsh said as many as 11% of Baylor students experience some form of food insecurity, making redistribution programs an important part of Baylor Eats’ sustainability efforts.
Baylor Eats also encourages students to provide feedback about dining options so staff can better match food production with student demand. Dean said students can submit feedback through surveys, focus groups, kiosks in dining halls and a text messaging system that sends comments directly to Baylor Eats leadership and executive chefs.
“The more that we serve what students are craving, the less it is going to be wasted,” Dean said.
Walsh said students can also help reduce food waste by being mindful of portion sizes and taking only what they expect to eat.
“Just [be] aware … and [think] about how much you want to eat that day,” Walsh said.
