Michelle Fromm

Lakeland students carry plates and cups of food and drink as they leave the lunch line.

Students in fall 2012 were among the first to try out the Lakeland cafeteria line without trays; now the ripple effects of the decision are producing a variety of benefits. The blue trays of Lakeland lunches past are gone.

In the past, students were able to use the roomy trays to assist them in carrying a variety of plates, bowls, and cups to their tables. But this school year, students must carry all these items without trays, though they are still permitted to return for more food as many times as they like once their ID cards are swiped for the meal.

Mark Wagner, director of dining services, and Joe Johnson, sous-chef, explained that renovations around Bossard Hall were being made as early as July 2012 in preparation for the elimination of trays from the main meal line.

“We were one of the last colleges in the area that still used trays,” said Wagner.

But, why the change? Can getting rid of trays in the cafeteria really make that much of a difference?

Dining Services is saving Lakeland quite a bit of money by keeping food waste down, as one might expect. They are also saving money when it comes to simply washing dishes.

“We saved so much on chemicals that go into washing dishes!” said Wagner. “We eliminated a fourth of our dishes.”

Over the course of the first three months of going trayless, Wagner says Dining Services saved about $4,300 on chemicals, dish detergent, and rinse agents.

But, Johnson added, “It wasn’t just a [financial] cut.” The positive impact it is having on the environment is also significant. With fewer chemicals being used to wash dishes, the amount of waste water that has to be treated has gone down.

But, water was not the only wasted resource prior to the decision to go trayless.

“When a person puts [a lot of food] on a tray and only eats 50 percent of it, that is crossing the line,” said Wagner.

Without the trays, about one third of the cafeteria’s waste has been cut. Wagner says this means that about 85 to 100 pounds of food waste per day are no longer finding their way into landfills, all thanks to his simple idea of no longer using trays in the main line.

The lack of trays is good for the earth and good for Lakeland’s pocketbook, but it’s also good for the students’ stomachs.

“They’re eating less, and they’re eating better,” says Wagner of students after the switch.

Though health was not among the top goals for the initiative, the effects on student health are now apparent.

Johnson says that although he still observes students loading up their plates, “They just can’t hold it all.”

Wagner has noticed a significant drop in students’ soda consumption and an increase in eating from the salad bar. He theorizes that when students come back for more food, the salad bar is closer, so students tend to take salad rather than go back into the main line to grab another dessert.

Wagner says that he only had people come to him with problems for the first two weeks of going trayless, and after that his critics seemed to understand that the benefits outweighed the inconveniences, a truth which is even more apparent as we come to the close of the school year, noting that the cafeteria has gotten rid of an entire trash dumpster and now has a cardboard recycling dumpster in its place.

But, Wagner humbly gives the credit to all the students who were willing to participate in the initiative.

“I wholeheartedly say thank you to them for doing it,” said Wagner.