Balancing meals at Ohio University could become more difficult.
OU administrators are considering removing trays from the dining halls, although nothing has been set yet, said Director of Dining Services Richard Neumann.
It's a double-edged sword
Neumann said. We've talked to other colleges about it but we do need student support. Otherwise they may think we're cheating them and that they are not getting the service they paid for.
More than 500 colleges across the country are expected to no longer provide trays in their dining halls, according The Associated Press.
No trays in the dining halls for the roughly 7,800 students on a meal plan could mean a reduction in wasted food and less water used for cleaning, Neumann said.
About 3,000 gallons of water have been saved daily since going without trays at Georgia Tech, a school with a comparable enrollment, according to the Associated Press.
Last winter, the Office of Sustainability found through an audit of Jefferson Dining Hall that students produced an average of 5.24 and 6.29 ounces of wasted food on two separate days, said Sustainability Coordinator Sonia Marcus.
When trays were removed, that number dipped to 4.52 ounces per person, but rose again to 5.56 ounces on the fourth day after those results were posted and trays were returned, she said. Other schools reported their wasted food was cut in half when trays were removed, she added.
We're not talking about any radical differences for why our students are wasting twice as much she said.
Removing trays before freshmen become accustomed to them could ease the transition to a tray-less life, said Gwyn Scott, executive director of culinary and dining operations.
I think it's a charge at modifying behavior
so the beginning of the academic year would be an easier time to implement it
Scott said.
Customer service is part of the reason the trays are still in place, she said.
Officials from other schools that dropped trays reported their students have complained, were less likely to throw their own trash away and caused safety concerns after breaking glasses, Neumann said.
We've heard more positives than negatives
but the negatives were strong
he said.
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