The 459 and The 5 campus dining halls endorse Project Clean Plate, a program which reduces food waste and increases hunger awareness.
David Heidke, director of LSU Dining, said the University has been promoting Project Clean Plate with its partner, the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.
Charts detailing how much food is wasted per week are posted, currently reflecting 1,309 pounds of waste for the week of Feb. 7 and 1,037 pounds of waste for the week of Feb. 14. Heidke said items such as napkins are included in the total.
If the University reduces overall waste by 20 percent, LSU Dining will donate to the Food Bank for every 5 percent reduction.
Amy Sellers, director of food procurement for the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, said the University has donated basic items to the Food Bank, including rice, kidney beans, pasta, turkey, flour and sugar.
Sellers said the Food Bank is grateful to LSU Dining because the bank cannot exist without help from outside corporations.
“You reduce the waste, but you raise awareness,” Sellers said.
Students said they are pleased with University efforts to increase awareness and decrease waste.
Emily Hicks, biological sciences freshman, said she tries not to waste food and thinks dining halls could reduce waste by labeling more items.
“We look around first to make sure we know for sure what we want,” Hicks said.
Glenn Carman, biological sciences freshman, said food could be conserved if the dining halls had a buffet organization instead of the current service-style setting.
“People could select the quantity they want,” Carman said.
Mildred Thomas works in the 459 and said she has been working with LSU Dining for 42 years. She said the servers in the dining halls have certain-sized spoons to control portions so servers will not “overdo” serving food. Thomas said students can come back for seconds if they want more.
Amber Steverson, political science freshman, said dining halls should make the waste bar charts visible when students walk into the dining hall instead of placing them where students leave their dirty plates before exiting.
Hayes Patrick, University Lab School student who was visiting the 459, said the University’s decision to participate in Project Clean Plate could entice prospective students to attend the University.
“This is one of the small things that could affect recruiting,” Patrick said. “I can see all the great ways colleges give back to the community.”
Dining halls post Project Clean Plate signs featuring statistics about hunger, saying about 50,000 people rely on weekly food donations from the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. Signs provide tips for ways to reduce waste, such as exercising portion control and not getting dessert until after eating a meal.
Sellers said the Food Bank has partnered with LSU Dining for at least six years, and Project Clean Plate is not the only program LSU Dining employs.
Sellers said LSU Dining sponsors a program at the end of each semester where students donate leftover canned goods by placing them in barrels located in dining halls. Last year, LSU Dining baked a massive king cake that could not be used for the sesquicentennial celebration because of inclement weather, so they donated the king cake to the Food Bank, Sellers said.
 
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Contact Andrea Gallo at [email protected]