No More Cafeteria Food Trays on Many College Campuses
Glenville State has joined an increasing number of colleges and universities that have shed their cafeteria trays.
In drought-stricken Georgia and North Carolina, the goal is to conserve water by lightening the load on dishwashers. Other schools are trying to cut down on wasted food and conserve energy. Proponents, including major food vendors, say it also reduces the use of water-polluting detergents.
Advocates of the trayless cafeterias say if students can’t pile on the food, they might consume fewer calories and keep off those unhealthy pounds often gained in college.
Freshman Rebecca Riffle, who used a legal-size notebook to help carry her plate to a table.
“Whenever there’s a bunch of people here at one time, it gets crazy. You have people bumping into you, so if you’re balancing stuff, you’re going to end up dropping something or breaking something.”
But students all over the country might have to get used to it.
Fifty to 60 percent of Philadelphia-based Aramark’s 500 campus partners and 230 of the 600 colleges and universities served by Gaithersburg, Md.-based Sodexo are expected to dump their trays.
At least 23 of the 625 schools belonging to the Okemos, Mich.-based National Association of College & University Food Services have adopted the idea so far.
Five times more energy and water are consumed in dining halls than any other square foot on college campuses, said Sodexo spokeswoman Monica Zimmer.
Georgia Tech has saved 3,000 gallons of water per day without trays. The University of Florida estimates it will save 470,000 gallons annually.
