Smarter Living: Schools

The humble dining tray--the ideal makeshift sled for a frosty evening, a last resort in a rowdy food fight, and commonplace in cafeterias across the country--may soon be a thing of the past. In an effort to reduce waste and save money, hundreds of colleges--from New York University and University of Maine to University of Minnesota and San Diego State--are removing trays from their cafeterias.

Food service providers and college dining staff argue that getting rid of trays results in less food wasted by students with eyes bigger than their stomachs. Going trayless also reduces the number of items that need to be washed, saving water, energy (used to heat water and run dishwashing machines) and detergent.

It's a simple idea that's rapidly saving colleges nationwide thousands of dollars while also benefiting the environment by conserving natural resources and avoiding unnecessary carbon emissions. Rumors say that it's also helping students stave off the "Freshman 15"--the 15 pounds freshman can gain when first getting used to all-you-can-eat style dining--by limiting portions to what students can carry without a tray.

The University of Maine at Farmington was one of the first colleges to instigate a university-wide trayless program in February 2007. Since then it's reduced food waste by an average of 46 pounds per person per year (over 65,000 pounds in total), conserved 288,288 gallons of water and saved $57,000.

"We've quickly seen the benefits of trayless dining because it saves water, energy, time and money," says university President Theo J. Kalikow. "It's the right thing to do," not to mention "our students see sustainable practices in action on a daily basis."

"Trayless dining is becoming the norm for many institutions," says Niles Barnes, projects coordinator at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Barnes argues that "the movement has picked up steam since the release of Aramark's study The Business and Cultural Case for Trayless Dining" in 2008.

The study establishes "the triple bottom line" of trayless dining by "providing environmental, social and economic benefits". Aramark found a 25-30 percent reduction in food waste per person when students don't use trays (based on 186,000 meals at 25 colleges).

"The response to our study was overwhelming and served as an empirical catalyst for greater adoption," says Bruce Alperin, senior director of marketing at Aramark.

Grand Valley State University in Allendale Michigan has saved $79,000 since April 2007. That hunk of cash would have been spent on 56 additional pounds of food per person each year (14 tons annually), 540 pounds of detergent per year and 31,000 gallons of water.

Food service giants Aramark Higher Education and Sodexo Inc. report that over the past three years more and more colleges have begun realizing the benefits of removing cafeteria trays. Sodexo estimates 240 (or 40%) of the schools it works with are eliminating trays; while Aramark says about 450 of the 600 campuses it serves are now trayless.

Dumping trays, however, also has some disadvantages that have provoked mixed reactions from students and staff. Trays are convenient for easily collecting and carrying an entire meal's worth of food in one trip. They can also help keep cafeteria tables clean by catching stray spills.

"Without a tray, you have to get up several times for more food, which increases traffic," describes Peter Bailsman, a junior at Yale University. After multiple trials going trayless, Yale, like some other colleges, has had to table the program due to many similar student complaints about inconvenience.

"It's definitely a bit inconvenient," says sophomore Derek Owens, familiar with the lunchtime frenzy in the dining halls at Oregon's Pomona College. "But the intentions are good, to be more aware of the environment and all that. So it's a small sacrifice to make."

Students with a big appetite have also started to develop a few nifty tricks to avoid multiple trips for food without using a tray. For example, Miles Dombrovski from the University of Minnesota always aims for a seat near the drink station to free up his hands for extra plates. Others, like Owens, employ somewhat precarious balancing acts by carrying one plate on top of a drink cup in one hand whilst holding a second plate and cutlery in the other hand. Other students at Harvard argue that meals can be great opportunity to practice vital waitering skills by learning to carry two or even three plates in one hand.

To help win even broader support, Barnes suggests, "campuses could sell students on the idea of going trayless by using the savings to cover the price premium for local, organic food — something students already want."

While getting better food may deter students from wild food fights, the cardboard sleds that have recently taken the hill still need a bit of work.

Learn More

How to Wage War on Food Waste

Helping Your Kids Maintain a Healthy Diet

Lessons from the Lunch Lady

last revised 2/7/2012