The Whitworthian

Issue date: 2/27/07 Last Updated: 8/9/07

A Sodexho worker cleans off trays in the dishroom.

A decrease in the amount of food students waste in Sodexho would result in the availability of a wider variety of specialty and organic food in the cafeteria, a Sodexho manager said.

Sodexho loses approximately $10,000 each year from waste alone, Jim O' Brien, the general manager of Sodexho said.

"If waste was cut down, more money would be available for a lot of things," O'Brien said. "We could serve more specialty items that students request."

Dan King, Sodexho manager, agrees with O'Brien.

"We could take those savings and purchase better products," King said.

Both said students would benefit in other ways as well.

"The Café could be open on weekends, and there could be a fifth day of Late Night," O'Brien said.

King said the deli could be refreshed five times in an evening as opposed to only two, and that more written requests left in the suggestion boxes could be answered.

"Here's one that says, 'Maybe put mandarin oranges in the salad bar every so often.' Another says, 'Serve bread dumplings.' These are suggestions that we try to process, but aren't always able to because of the cost," King said.

Despite the substantial loss of money due to waste, only a small percentage of students throw-out significant amounts of food.

"About 40 percent of students waste almost nothing. Another 30 to 40 percent waste a very small amount. But 10 to 15 percent waste a tremendous amount," said Jess Dozier, the head grill chef in Sodexho. "Some students take several entrees and eat only one."

Tim Assad, a Whitworth student and Sodexho employee who works in the dishroom, is often disturbed by the amount of food that some students leave on their trays.

"It was really depressing for the first couple of weeks," Assad said. "It still hurts to see all the leftover food at the end of the night, but I try to focus of the job itself, and not on the morally unsettling aspects of the job."

By only taking what they can eat, students can cut down on waste, O'Brien said.

"A lot of students have the impression that it's an all-you-can-eat program," O'Brien said. "That's unfortunate because it's not good to waste food, energy, water or other resources."

Due to several waste reduction procedures, waste from Sodexho is minimal.

Continued...

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