According to Charlie Thompson, Director of Dining Services, the test exercise taught Dining Services that they could reduce a whopping 22,000 pounds of food waste per year if they went trayless. It was also estimated that the College could save $600 each year on chemical and soap usage as a result of not washing 3,000 trays a day. Utility savings, however, have yet to be determined. On average, traffic in and out of the serving area increased by 13 percent, but the absence of trays did not slow down diners in clearing their tableware.
The lack of trays did, however, increase the amount of time staff spent cleaning up the dining hall. “It went a lot smoother than expected,” remarked Dining Services Assistant Brian Longto, “but the only reason it went smoothly was that we were overstaffed.” Howie Morrison, Chef Manager of Dining Services, worked 13.5 hours instead of his usual eight and a half because of the increased mess. He observed that the lack of trays “made the serving area dirtier, because food would miss the plate and there would be no tray to catch it.”
Much of the extra mess may have been avoidable, as plates were left on tables and food tossed about in what appeared to be a protest. “I thought it was unfair because the staff had to clean up for something that wasn’t their fault,” said Tom Vu ’13. “There would have been better ways to protest. It was immature of them.” Meanwhile, one Val worker who preferred not to be identified commented, “There was a lot of complaining, and a lot of laughing on my part. Anytime kids don’t get what they want, I’m entertained.”
While Dining Services is still in the process of collecting student feedback, preliminary responses have not been overly positive. “It was definitely inconvenient, and just because something is inconvenient, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily more effective,” Rohan Mazumdar ’12 said.
Other students also faced increased difficulty in getting food. “I honestly was not happy that I did not have a tray — going back and forth was cumbersome,” Ewuradjoa Gadzanku ’13 stated. However, she added, “Normally I’ll take more food than I eat, but this time I didn’t waste as much.”
As for the prospect of Valentine going entirely trayless, Thompson stated, “I think more research, campus conversation, possible test days, as well as assessing what modifications to the facilities and program would be necessary.”