Project Drawdown lists ‘Preventing Food Waste’ as the #1 action that individuals can take to reduce climate impacts, and it’s estimated that the average college student wastes around 140 pounds of food each year. Try practicing these 5 steps to reduce personal plate waste:
- Plan your meal. Check all station menus first before making your selection.
- Consider the source. Food requires significant water, energy, and labor resources to produce, package, transport, prepare, serve, and dispose of.
- Sample smaller portions. Serve yourself or ask a server for a sample of a new dish to try before plating a full portion.
- Take only what you can eat.
- Come back for seconds! Dining visitors are encouraged to revisit the stations frequently to make sure you’re getting enough to eat.