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UH DINING SERVICES WORKS TO MINIMIZE FOOD WASTE ON CAMPUS
Did you know that up to 40 percent of all food waste in the
United States is deemed avoidable waste? This means that almost
half of the food waste in the country could be deterred, leaving
a great impact on our landfills, our food costs and the
environment.
The University of Houston is a strong supporter of
sustainability and as part of that mission, UH Dining Services
has implemented numerous sustainable programs over the last few
years. From re-useable to-go containers in the dining halls to
large-scale paper and cardboard recycling in its locations, UH
Dining Services is always looking for new ways to help the
University of Houston be greener.
That�s why it�s only fitting that the University of Houston was
chosen as the pilot campus for ARAMARK�s new waste minimization
program. ARAMARK, the food-service provider on the UH campus,
developed the program with the goal of reducing food waste in
its locations by up to 40 percent. The program begins with
awareness, aiming to bring the issue of food waste into the
forethought of front line managers and employees.
So, for two weeks, UH Dining Services� employees collected all
food waste in separate plastic containers. They then weighed the
food waste and went through the bins with their managers who
pointed out areas for improvement.
�It can be as simple as cutting too much off of the tip of a
carrot,� said Executive Chef Brent Gorman, the project leader at
UH. �We had a demonstration that showed by just emptying a can
of pizza sauce and not scraping it out with a spatula you left 6
oz. of product inside the can. That�s enough for a whole pizza.
If you take that kind of waste and multiply it by all of
ARAMARK�s accounts, we could have a huge impact.�
UH Dining Services participated in the pilot program until Nov.
17, at which time ARAMARK executives visited the campus to
review the results. The program will then be adapted based on
those results and eventually rolled out to campuses and
businesses nationwide.
For more information about UH Dining Services visit
www.uh.edu/dining.
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