On Monday, April 19, Dean of Students Liz Braun sent an email to the student body announcing two changes being made by Dining Services for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Beginning next semester, continental breakfast locations will start the process of shutting down at 9:45 a.m. instead of 10 a.m. Due to low participation for lunch, Torrey Grab n’ Go will no longer be open for lunch on Fridays.
Despite these changes, no final decision has been made on the status of to-go cups remaining in the dining halls.
“To date, there has been no decision to get rid of to-go cups. This year, Dining Services did not distribute reusable mugs to students because students did not like or use what we had previously chosen, so we wanted feedback on preference before purchasing mugs and wanted something that students would use,” said Director of Dining Services Dale Hennessey.
“This is why eco-reps were in Blanchard for a week from 12-1 a couple of weeks ago. There is no question that we would like to see a significant reduction in the amount of paper cups used in our dining operations to reduce both paper and food waste.” While some students feel that the elimination of these dining options will be a substantial inconvenience, many also recognize the reasoning behind such decisions.
“I think the College should consider the fact that students need flexibility from dining services, yet I also know that we as students should recognize that the same level of income is not there,” said Maria Youngman ’12.
“There are times when I’ve been sick and friends have brought me food in to-go containers. However, I would be in support of getting rid of them because I do think they are a big waste,” said Miriam Stevens ’10.
Although there is the possibility that to-go cups will be taken out of the dining halls, Hennessey has reassured students that if this does happen there will be a reusable alternative provided.
“If we were to eliminate to-go cups, students would be given a reusable alternative for beverages and we would still be providing the paper trays for to-go in the dining halls as we do currently. Before to-go cups would be removed, there would be an implementation strategy developed to inform and educate students prior to making a change. This has not been developed yet and is something we will review over the summer,” said Hennessey.
Related posts:
- Dining Services to phase out to-go cups to prevent unnecessary waste
- Eco-rep campaign removes to-go cups from dining halls for one week to raise waste awareness and “change habits”
- Dining Services increases use of local agriculture
- Campus orgs hold Dining Services Awareness Week
- Sustainable dining implemented on campus
