Study Shows Removing Trays from Cafeterias Cuts Food Waste

Date: November 2, 2012

Source: News Room

A study has found a way to reduce food waste: take away the cafeteria trays. The study which examined university dining halls said food waste declined by 18 percent once trays were removed, as reported by Reuters Health. "Especially amongst sustainability-minded institutions and dining services, this was looked at as a way to reduce food waste," said Victoria Getty, from Indiana University in Bloomington, who worked on the study. However, there were trade-offs including more broken dishes, table mess and disgruntled students, according to findings published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Elena Serrano, a nutrition researcher from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg who wasn't involved in the new research but studied the switch away from trays at her own university, said getting rid of the trays could be a "mindless technique" to encourage students to take less food - thus reducing food waste and possibly over-eating as well.

To view the article, visit: www.andjrnl.org/article/S2212-2672(12)01196-3/abstract.

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