Monthly Archives: March 2015

America’s Food Waste in College Dinning Hall’s

Contrary to popular belief, food waste is not only what remains on plates after a meal, food waste is also what never made it on to a plate in the first place. In fact, if we discard paper, food waste is the single largest material waste in the Unites States (2010 figures). According to The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) American’s waste 33 million tons of food each year[i]. To put it simply, American’s waste enough food to fill up The Rose Bowl every day in the span of one year[ii]. Ironically enough 40% of all food produced in America never makes it “to the plate” since today we discard more food than what we consume, and yet one in every six American’s starves[iii]. One of the greater catalysts of this issue are American Universities and Colleges Dinning Halls, which produce 3.6 million tons of food waste, contributing 2% of America’s annual food waste1.

Most Universities and colleges in America require students who live on campus to purchase a dinning plan, which allow students to dine at any on-campus food hall. Dinning plan’s, or meal plan’s, differ from University to University in pricing and policy. For example, at the Pennsylvania State University student’s can choose in between different “meal plans levels” which depending on the pricing, students will receive points that can be used to either purchase individual meals or snacks, or enter any dinning hall, which functions like an all you can eat buffet. Other Universities, such as Florida International University offer a standard rate plan, which students pay in order to get unlimited access to any dinning hall that function like 24 hours all you can eat buffet. Regardless of the dinning policy implemented by the Universities, however, most Universities and Colleges follow the all you can eat buffet dinning hall characteristics. Because Dinning Halls offer students all you can eat buffets, students tend to grab more food than what they will actually eat which creates a major problem, dinning halls prepare more food than what will actually be consumed by student’s[iv].

Even though a few of American Universities and Colleges and their suppliers, like Aramark and Sodexo, are beginning to take initiatives to decrease dinning hall food waste, through campaigns that display 1 day worth of food waste in the entrance of cafeterias for 30 minutes to create awareness, for instance, “the average college students is still generating 142 pounds of food waste yearly.”[v] Therefore one question is left to ask, what actions can American Universities and College Dinning Halls take to reduce food waste, and yet continue to provide students an array of food choices?

Do Tray’s Make a Difference?

Recently, both Sodexo and Aramark, suggested their clients to remove all trays from dinning halls as an attempt to reduce food waste. According to Sodexo an Aramark, by removing trays from dinning halls, Universities are forcing students to look around a dinning hall and grab only what they will it rather than compelling food plates on their tray iv. Sodexo and Aramark’s suggestions stimulated the University of Main at Farmington to conduct a study, in which they found that, in effect, by removing food trays from University’s dinning halls an institution could reduce food waste by anywhere between 25 to 30%[i].

Additionally, Sodexo also released statements that encouraged Universities to adopt tray-less dinning campus halls policies since it would also reduce water waste by avoiding it’s use in the process of cleaning it’s tray. In effect, Sodexo stated that if universities adopted tray-less policies they could potentially reduce 200 galloons of water for every 1,000 meals served. The University of Main at Farmington found evidence that does not only agree with the statements released by Sodexo, but also released estimates of how much money Universities could potentially save through water savings. According to the study conducted, The University of Main at Farmington found that the annual 288,288 galloons of water that could be saved through this policy would be equivalent to $57,000 worth on savings iv.

A couple of Universities across The United States, including The University of Maine at Farmington, have already begun to implemented tray-less campus dinning halls as a reaction to this finding. Harvard University, for instance, adopted tray-less policies as part of their Clean Plate Club. Through this club, Harvard orders specific foods that students prefer and boxes them as servings, in order to prevent students from accumulating plates of food iv.

How can we deal with the “food scraps”?

Perhaps one of the biggest issues, if not the biggest issue, with food waste in University’s dinning halls are the scraps that are left in the dinning halls buffet after closing. In fact, most of the food left cooked and un touched by students usually remains inside dinning halls kitchens and thrown away before even being displayed in the dinning halls buffets. These “scraps”, are in effect, what contribute to America’s second largest material waste – after paper – since almost half of all food waste (40%) is thrown out in such manner [ii]. Nevertheless, it is important to take into consideration the numerous policies that currently exist that force Universities to throw away food scraps in order to prevent any food intoxication. Depending on the health policies that a certain university is entitled to in retrospect to the State, a University may have to hold itself accountable to either continuously change foods that have been in displaced for a long period of time under buffet flames, three to three and a half hours per see, or “recycle their food” by reusing certain ingredients. For example, a food hall may use the remainders of the salad bar that were provided during lunch may be used to provide a veggie pizza during dinner. However, the “recycling food” process may decrease the quality of food and thereby counteract by creating more waste since students may pot for other choices of food that might hold better quality. Thereby the original “food scrap” that was used to recreate a meal created additional waste and, as a result, rather than providing a solution for the original problem, it created an additional problem.

Perhaps one of the fastest growing organizations that strives’ to solve the “food scrap” on a University Dinning Hall scale is The Food Recovery Network (FRN). FRN is a student-run organization that originated in The University of Maryland in 2011 with the goal of creating awareness of the food waste that University Dinning Halls create by taking the “food scraps” the these dinning halls create every night to local food banks and home shelters once the dinning halls have closed. During the course of four years, from 2011 to 2015, The FRN have managed to branch out to 135 College and University campuses across America and have donated over 688,148 pounds of “food scraps” to the local community vii. To put numerically, The US Department of Education states that there are currently around 4,861 Universities and Colleges from which only 135 (36%) have worked with The FRN, and yet these institutes have manages to donate over half a million pounds of edible un touched “food scrapes” to the community[iii].

Because The FRN, is ran by students it is not costly to the University. In fact, because the FRN is ran by students, the Universities and Colleges that network with the organization is able to save money and in return invest more money in the campus itself. The money that the educational institutions is able to economize is due to the fact that The FRN ensures that all of the food that will be relocated from the dinning hall to the food bank or shelter is done via students – whether it is walking or by car – the fact that the FRN organization develops in the Universities as a club once it has been implemented ensures that this step is taken in such manner. Therefore, as a result, the original money that a University or College had as a budget to ensure the disposal of these “scraps” can be invested in other areas of education vii.

How much food “waste” could Universities and Colleges save through organizations?

Even though 36% of all higher level educational institutions have opted to work with the FRN, there is still a significant amount of Universities (64%) that are most likely dumping food that could potentially help lower areas of the community vii. Even though the amount of Universities that could join forces with organizations such as The FRN is high, the amount of food waste that each of these Universities and Colleges could potentially prevent is even higher, and thereby more significant. According to Recycling Networks, a network company designed to help various institutions and corporations such as companies reduce food waste, a viable formula that could be used to find out how much food waste Universities and Colleges, specifically, produce is the difference between the amount of food provided at the dinning hall and the amount of food consumed by the students v. The University of Miami, for example, has 9,979 undergraduate students who live on campus, to which, if we assume each students eats three meals a day in one school year (52 weeks) that weigh .35 pounds each. In one school year the entire student body at the University of Miami should consume an average of 544,853.4 pounds of food, which means that if The University were looking to reduce its Dining Hall food waste it should prepare slightly more than the estimate (perhaps 200,000 more pounds), but not significantly more (per see 600,000 extra pounds).

Even though estimating the potential food waste will not grant Universities and Colleges a reliable number to work with in order to prevent food waste during one school year since students could always eat somewhat more or less, calculating how much potential waste could be the start of a process that might help University Officials understand the importance of working with organizations that provide more efficient methods of “disposing” food waste than throwing them out. University of Miami, for example, is currently not networking with any organization, like The FRN, that helps dispose food waste in a more efficient manner. However, if the University’s President, Dona E. Shalala, saw the initiative of student’s to help the community save, per see 100,000 pounds of food waste per week, she might decide to enter The FRN community and begin to take The University of Miami daily “food waste” to the Miami Dade Food Bank.

Conclusion

Universities and Colleges across The United States strive to make a difference in the community. Whether it is by research or by educating, all higher levels of education across the nation seek to structure well minded civilians that will one day aid the community through various fields or forms. Yet, these institutions are providing The United States with something else that is, in fact, of less importance: food waste. Because Universities and Colleges are institutions that educate individuals of the importance of doing the good in the world, universities should begin implementing policies and networks that will, in effect, do good in there single communities by diminishing their own rate of food waste. Since food waste is a phenomenon, to which an extend, these institutes cannot avoid because of the lack of reliability in its calculations, colleges and universities should seek to implement policies, such as promoting tray-less dinning halls, or network with organizations, such as the FRN, that provide better alternatives to deal with the potential waste that dinning halls produce.

Endnotes

[1] “Resource Conservation: Food Recovery Resources.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 31 March. 2015

[1] Merrow, Kylie, Penzien Philip and Dubats, Trevor. Exploring Food Waste Reduction in Campus Dinning Halls (n.d): The Campus as a Living Laboratory with Dr. Harold Glasser, 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

[1] “Environmental Issues and Solutions to Current Environmental Problems.” NRDC. N.d. We. 31 Mar. 2015

[1] Davis, Alexa. “Eliminating College Dinning Halls Trays Cutes Water and Food Waste.” New York, NY. October 25, 2008. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

[1] “Food Waste Etmation Guide.”- Recycng Works Massachussetts. Np., n.d Web. 31. Mar 2015.

[1] Barlett, Peggy F. “Campus Sustainable Food Projects: Critique and Engagement.” American Anthropologist 113.1 (2011): 1001-15 Web. March 25, 2015

[1] “About Us.” Food Recovery Network. N.p. n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

[1] “US Colleges and Universities.” Home. US Department of Education, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015

Very Berry-Licious Smoothie

3 Replies

Since it is spring, I decided to blog about the smoothies sold at Starbucks. Technically Starbucks Smoothies are not a “secret” since they are clearly described in the menu. Therefore in order to maintain my Starbucks Secret Menu Theme, I decided to blog about the Starbucks Very Berry-Licious Smoothie, which is indeed part of the Secret Menu.

The Starbucks Very Berry-Licious Smoothie is part of the “healthier” beverages that Starbucks has to offer since it only takes fruits, milk and whipped cream (if wished) to make. Due to it’s abundance in fruit and therefore Vitamin C, the Very Berry-Licious Smoothie would be a nutritious breakfast beverage. To order the Very Berry-Licious Smoothie all you need to ask your barista to do is to fill up your cup with milk until it reaches the first line, then add three scoops of berries (the berries that Starbucks has to offer are a mix of strawberries and blueberries), add five slices of oranges, add an entire banana and, if you wish, top your beverage with whipped cream. However, if you really want to upgrade your drink, you could ask your barista to add The Berry-Hibiscus Teavana Refresher instead of Milk up to the line and that way enjoy a more watery and fruity flavored/based smoothie. Also, by adding The Berry Hibiscus Tevana Refresher as a base you are getting “bonus” fruit for your smoothie, since this specific refresher is served with blackberry. In other words, by using this refresher as a base rather than milk you are adding yet another berry to your smoothie.

The beverage itself was not bad, but it was also not great. To put on somewhat of a “scale”, the Very Berry-Licious Smoothie is not as flavorful and smooth as a Jamba Juice Smoothie is, but it does taste better than the berry smoothie sold at The Mix (The Mix is a market place found at the Pollock Commons). I believe that a lot of the lack of flavor and texture this specific smoothie was lacking of was due to the fact that it was prepared in blenders used to create Frappuccinos, which therefore left my beverage somewhat icy rather than smooth and also because of he fact that I ordered my smoothie with Soy Milk rather than Whole Milk, which might of contributed to subtract that overall creamy-fruity flavor all smoothies have. Furthermore, something that I noticed about this particular beverage (which I’m not sure if all dinning companies at State College do) is that it was based from pre-frozen berries and oranges rather than fresh fruit. Perhaps the lack of popularity of these items, or the cost of maintaining fresh fruit contribute to this, but I strongly believe that the lack of fresh fruit also took away some of that bold fruity flavors smoothies posses. It’s important to note, however, that Starbucks specialty is coffee not smoothies, with that being acknowledged, I think Starbucks did a good job at creating a fruit based beverage.

Work Cited:

Starbucks Corporation. Starbucks Smoothies: The Very Berry-Licious Smoothie. Np. Nd. Web. March 25, 2015.

Professional Career vs. Educational Career

1 Reply

Most college all-star athletes reach a point in their career in which they must face an important decision, whether to stay in college and then enter the draft, or leave college and either be part of the draft as a free agent or sign an offer with a professional team. Regardless of the college or the sport, everyday college all-stars are facing offers of teams, which at times seem more promising than a college diploma that could impact the fate of their educational career. College Athletes, however, sometimes enter Universities with a professional career in mind, like Andrew Wiggens from Kansas University who publically announced he would be leaving to the NBA after completing one year of college. Others, like Tim T-Bow from University of Florida, completed his college career, regardless of the numerous offers he had from professional football teams, and proceeded later on to sign with the Denver Broncos as the number one draft pick.

Logically, as many would think, receiving a college diploma and later on entering the professional athlete life seems like a “smart choice” since a college diploma may serve as a safety net if the professional athlete life fails. However, the monetary background most of these careers promise are tempting since the typical rookie contract usually offers an athlete millions of dollars for a four year contract. In other words, most college all-starts that enter the professional athlete lottery obtain an outrageous amount of money that could last the average American citizen a comfortable life style. Even though to many this life style must seem promising, it seems even most to college al-star athletes who tend to come from a poor academic rigor background or a poor socio-economical class. In the other side of the spectrum, many teenagers today decide to not attend college in order to play in minor leagues, like the single “A” and the double “A” in baseball, with hopes of escalating the latter until they reach the professional life. As Paul Taugh states in his book “How Children Succeed: Rethinking Character and Intelligence”, today children are being educationally unprepared, which has lead to the highest American school dropout rate (Foca TV).

As discussed in First Take, a sport centered debate show hosted on ESPN, many believe that the amount of college athletes that decide to leave school in order to strive a professional athletes career would diminish if college athletes were allowed to obtain sponsorship or if they could have a guarantee that any possible offer would be held until after graduation. In other words, if there was an initial money flow entering to college students through companies, rather than entering to the school’s program, or if professional contracts held some type of guarantee like, like a bank loan. However, as obvious as it may seem, providing athletes with this opportunity would hurt any University or College athletics program and it could also affect the college career of any athlete by either inflating their college career, decreasing the value of their college career or even creating some sort of competitiveness among a sports team.

As silly or outrageous as it might sound, the decision of many college students of ending an educational career in order to initiate an athletic career is usually surrounded by money flow. However, at times, the decision to drop out of college and initiate a professional career is surrounded by a dream that to most all-star college athletes seem possible due to the increasing offers they receive, yet cannot benefit from unless they provide the team with a solid positive response. Then, if college all-star athletes tend to attended colleges that offers them athletic scholarships and later on leave the educational institution in order to pursue a professional career, why do colleges waste so much money in providing athletic scholarships if they run the risk of loosing their all-star after one, or two years, depending on the sport? Perhaps the way organizations like the NCAA should revise the rules and sanctions that restrain athletes from receiving more “sportsmanship freedom” in order to ensure most, if not all, athletes to obtain a college degree that will guarantee athletes an educational safety net.

***All of the Information provided above was obtained from First Take Show that aired on March 17, 2015 on ESPN and from Foca TV’s show titled US Must Focus on ‘Schocking’ Collge Dropout Rate***

Starbucks Slushie’s

The Starbucks Fruit Punch Refresher

2 Replies

With Spring Break right around the corner I thought it would be appropriate to devote this week’s blog to a summery drink. Therefore, I went into the Starbucks Secret Menu Webpage and found The Starbucks Fruit Punch Refresher. The Starbucks Fruit Punch Refresher has a similar taste to a watery fruit punch/ less sugary Hawaiian Fruit Punch beverage. In fact, I would go as far as describing its taste like a water fruit infusion drink because of the way both flavors mix. Personally, I do not like this texture because I feel that I am teasing my taste buds by forcing them into detecting a taste that is hidden underneath an overwhelming water sensation. It’s kind of asking a baby cattle to describe to you the difference between 2% milk and half and half, it might be able to sense it but because its so used to having milk the particular difference might be harder to spot (I’m not sure if this analogy describes perfectly what I am trying to express).

Even though the way this beverage presents its flavor is not my favorite, the taste itself is pretty good. After a while of drinking the Starbucks Fruit Punch Refresher and allowing my taste buds to get a hang of the flavor, I started to taste the different citrusy and berry-full flavor this beverage had. Out of all of the different flavors I could distinguish, the most prominent one was orange (which is no surprise since the Refresher contains slices of oranges), so if you are a fan of oranges I would highly recommend this beverage. Also, if you are a fan of Green Tea or Jasmine Tea you might enjoy this beverage since, as you will later read, the Starbucks Fruit Punch Refresher is based on the Valencia Orange Refresher, which is a drink made up of infusions of apricots, orange peels, and Jasmine Tea with caffeine extracts of Green Tea (Starbucks, 2015).

If you are interested in ordering your very own Starbucks Fruit Punch Refresher all you have to do is order a Valencia Orange Refresher with a little bit more water than usual and ask your Barista to leave the orange slices inside your drink. Then ask for one pump of Raspberry syrup and one pump of Peach syrup (the amount of pumps of syrup increases by one pump respectively with the size of your cup, this is the amount of pumps needed for a Grande cup).

Unfortunately, I could not find the nutritional facts of this specific beverage because its part of the Secret Menu (i.e. not the official menu), however because the beverage is based on the Valencia Orange Refresher which is part of the “official” Starbucks Menu I induced the potential nutritional facts. The Grande Valencia Orange Refresher contains 60 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of cholesterol 2 grams of sugar and 8 grams of sodium. Therefore, if the Fruit Punch Refresher is essentially a Valencia Orange Refresher with extra sugar, my potential estimate, is that it a Grande Fruit Punch Refresher contains about 120 calories, 2 grams of fat, 2 grams of cholesterol, 6 grams of sugar and 12 grams of sodium.

Work Cited:

Starbucks Corporation. “Valencia Orange Starbucks Refresher Beverage.” Starbucks Coffee. Web. March 2 2015.

Starbucks Secret Menu Network. “Starbucks Secret Menu: Fruit Punch Refresher.” Web. Np. Nd. March 2 2015.