Taking out the trash
By Hanni Reynolds
The Franklin Staff Writer
The head of Franklin’s food service provider, Sodexo, said going “tray-less” has achieved its goals of conserving water, energy and food.
Food Service Director Les Petroff said that about 40-50 pounds of trash is thrown out on a daily basis. The amount of trash thrown out used to be about 70 pounds.
“We are a small part of [the “green” initiative] by saving water, having less trash and re-using some foods,” Petroff said.
Sodexo is also serving less food because of the change.
“[Students] are taking about 50% less food without the trays,” Chef Tim Bowen said.
To help the “green” initiative, food such as coffee grounds and lettuce are picked up by the physical plant to use for other purposes.
But plenty of the foods are still thrown away due to various health reasons.
“Some things just cannot be reused,” Petroff said. “Some leftovers do get thrown away.”
Most of the food in the cafeteria must be disposed of after being out for two hours, Bowen said.
“The food is safe, but we need to be extra safe,” he said.
The cafeteria only used to be open for two hours at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bowen added that the steam foods need to be thrown out often since the cafeteria is open all day.
Jazzman’s Cafe runs out of food almost every day.
“Very seldom there will be leftovers [from Jazzman’s]” Bowen said. “If there are leftovers, it would only be the muffins and we need to throw those out.”
Bowen said that less than $100 per day is wasted on food.
“On a daily basis, we feed about 1,500 to 1,700 meals and there is usually not a lot of waste [disposed],” he said.
Sodexo’s menu is a corporate decision, though Bowen adds foods that are suggested by students. Healthier foods are also being added at the request of students, but some foods are just not appealing to some students.
“Once the food is made, there’s nothing we can do,” Petroff said. “If it is not popular, Tim won’t put it on the menu again.”
He also said that the vegetarian choices do not stay on the menu and they have been trying different types of vegan-type foods.
As for the brown pasta by the grill, it’s wheat pasta, which is a healthier alternative.
“Personally I think it doesn’t taste bad. We are just trying to expand healthy choices for students,” Petroff said. “We will have regular pasta soon, but wheat pasta tastes the same with the sauce. It’s just healthier.”
