Food Waste Audits
2009 Audit
A second round of food waste audits, this time conducted in Nelson Dining Hall, took place during dinner throughout the week of October 5- October 8th, 2009. These audits found amounts of edible food waste slightly lower than audits in Jefferson Dining Hall conducted during the winter of 2008. The first waste audits revealed that Ohio U generates significantly more food waste than comparable colleges and universities. Both audits measured only edible food disposed of by student consumers, not kitchen waste, inedible food waste (banana peels, bones, apple cores) or trash. Detailed results for the Jefferson audits can be viewed at the bottom of this page.
Two happy plate cleaners
The audits in Nelson took place over the course of four days. For the first three days, workers were shielded from view so that knowledge of the audits would not influence results. On Monday and Wednesday, the audits gathered baseline data for the amount of food thrown away at an average meal. On Tuesday, the dining hall offered smaller “sample” size portions of the main entrees at two stations in hopes that this would allow students to take only the food they intended to eat.
On Thursday, the Office of Sustainability held a compost theme dinner to educate students about the results of the first three days of audits, and to generate enthusiasm with a make-your-own compost (dirt) pudding station and holding a raffle for students who had no food waste. Photos of students eligible to enter the drawing (sporting nifty newspaper crowns as rewards) are featured on the Facebook page for the Office of Sustainability.
The results of the food waste audits at Nelson Dining Hall found:
Monday (baseline)- 467 lbs. of food waste for 1348 people, at 5.54 oz/person
Tuesday (sample size portions)- 393 lbs. for 1344 people, at 4.68 oz/person
Wednesday (baseline)- 429 lbs for 1349 people, at 5.09 oz/person
Thursday (theme dinner)- 395 lbs. for 1286 people, at 4.91 oz/person
Students leaving dinner on Thursday were asked to participate in an exit survey to measure attitudes toward food waste and reduction efforts. Results of this survey (taken by 116 volunteers) found that 84% of students entirely support efforts to reduce food waste in the dining halls and 12% “somewhat” support these efforts. A majority of students were either “Very” (33%) or “Somewhat” (45%) concerned about the amount of food waste they generated at dinner. A nearly equal number of students (45% “yes” compared to 46% “no”) said they would be willing to pay extra per meal for the inclusion of fair trade, organic, and/or local food into dining hall meals (one to two dollars more, on average) as those who would not be willing to pay for these products.
A final intervention effort was tested during dinner on Thursday, October 29th as a wrap-up to the Nelson waste audits. This night measured the effects of removing trays from the dining hall, requiring students to carry individual plates to and from their tables. The idea behind this audit is that students could carry fewer dishes, and would be more likely to choose food they planned to finish. This change has been successfully implemented at other colleges and universities. The results for this night were:
Thursday (trayless)- 405 lbs. for 1077 people, at 6.02 oz/person
2008 Audit
Food waste audits at Jefferson dining hall reveal results that Ohio University needs to be more waste wise. The goal of the audits was to increase awareness of food waste among students and the entire Ohio University community. Audits found on average 4.5 to 6.3 ounces of food per person were thrown away during dinner service.
Audits were conducted by the Office of Sustainability during dinner service over four Mondays (Jan. 21, Jan. 28, Feb. 4 and Feb. 18). The audits focused only on edible food disposed of by student consumers, not kitchen waste, nonedible food waste (banana peels, bones, apple cores) or trash. Students were unaware that food waste audits were being performed during the January dates, but on Feb. 4, the absence of trays caught some people’s attention.
Here's a look at average collections per person on the four audit dates:
Jan. 21: 5.24 ounces per person (756 people served, 248 total pounds of waste).
Jan. 28: 6.29 ounces per person (680 served, 268 pounds of waste).
Feb. 4: "No-Tray day" 4.52 ounces per person (681 served, 191 pounds of waste).
Feb. 18: "Education/ Outreach Day" 5.56 ounces per person (709 served, 246.5 pounds of waste).
These totals are “unusually high” when compared to other institutions. In particular, Harvard found an average of 3.3 ounces of food wasted per person. During "no-tray day," there was a drop in the total amount of food waste generated, even though more people were served. The hope was that the inconvenience of having to juggle plates and bowls without trays would draw attention to how much food was being taken from the stations.
The final audit was conducted Feb. 18, when signs and charts displaying the results of the first three audits on columns and table tents around the room drew attention to the effort and its goals. While the facts and figures drew attention, they didn't necessarily draw action. "Education doesn't seem to have much of an immediate effect on waste, but the tray removal did," said Sonia Marcus, Sustainability Coordinator.
Over the course of three of the audits, approximately 1,000 meals were thrown away.
An exit survey conducted during the Feb. 4 audit shows students may be open to changing their ways. Eighty-three percent of the 134 students participating said they supported efforts to reduce food waste within the dining halls. Ninety students, or 67 percent, indicated they were "concerned" or "very concerned" about the amount of waste generated.
Last year, Ohio University dining halls served over 1.7 million meals
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