Clean Plates at State helps put environmental sustainability into perspective for campus diners, encouraging them to take simple steps to avoid wasting food.
Each fall, Culinary Services (CS) conducts a food waste audit at all residential dining halls on campus. Electronic scales weigh each customer's plate subtracting a tare allowance for every type of plate across campus. By reviewing numbers and gauging customer behavior, our team can seek out ways to lessen the amount of waste produced and provide additional education to diners regarding waste diversion and reduction.
In total, the fall 2017 study ran 34.5 hours, in four-hour increments, during which 2,404.31 pounds of post-consumer food waste were measured. This is equivalent to 70 pounds of post-consumer food waste per hour. By taking the average food waste per patron – 3.08 ounces (equivalent to one slice of pizza) – and multiplying it by the number of people who enter dining halls in one semester, a post-consumer food waste of 535,072 pounds was estimated for fall 2017.
There are many ways that you can help decrease food waste in our dining halls. For example, try dining without a tray and going back for seconds if you're still hungry, check the menu online before dining to plan your meal in advance, and volunteer for an upcoming Clean Plates at State audit to learn more about MSU's food waste efforts and other sustainability initiatives.
All we need is two hours of your time to help educate students, faculty and staff on the importance of sustainability efforts and food waste prevention. Volunteers will receive a free meal ticket for any residential dining hall, excluding Riverwalk Market at Owen Hall, once they complete a shift. For each shift, volunteers must arrive 15 minutes prior to their start time to receive a quick training and to help set up. Anyone interested in volunteering should email sustainability@rhs.msu.edu or visit http://signup.com/go/PtyGGPQ.
Please see below for a complete schedule for the fall 2018 program. If you live on campus, we’ll likely be coming to your hall, so it’s convenient and simple for you to volunteer and help make a difference!
SEPTEMBER
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018 – Holden Dining Hall
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5-7 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018 – Holmes Dining Hall
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5-7 p.m.
OCTOBER
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018 – South Pointe at Case
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5-7 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018 – The Gallery at Snyder / Phillips
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5-7 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018 – The Vista at Shaw
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5-7 p.m.
NOVEMBER
Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018 – Heritage Commons at Landon
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5-7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018 – The Edge at Akers
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5-7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018 – Wilson Dining Hall
Dinner: 5-7 p.m.
Late Night: 8-10 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018 – Brody Square
Lunch: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Dinner: 5-7 p.m.