Editor’s Note: This story has been revised as of 11/13/20 at 4:30 p.m. to correct a misattribution.
Sodexo officials have noticed a problem with excess food being thrown out in the caf this semester.
The focus group organized by Sodexo each semester identified food waste as an issue. The focus group is made up of several students who volunteered to give feedback to Sodexo.
Rileigh Darby-McClure, cell and molecular biology senior, is a member of the focus group. He said:
We mostly just listen to the people around us and tell the caf what changes could be made. Nirali has been great about taking our feedback and listening to our requests.
Nirali Mickow is the director of operations for OCU’s Sodexo.
Student’s are sent an email at the beginning of the semester with information on how to participate. All students are welcome to volunteer.
The focus group decided that a majority of the food that is thrown out is not because Sodexo has ordered excess food, but because students are asking for too much food and then throwing it away.
Hannah Descartin, acting junior, said it is not a matter of asking for too much food, but not liking the food she gets.
“Personally, I don’t like wasting food but when I do it’s just because the food I get looks good, but then I don’t end up actually liking how it tastes,” she said.
Sodexo has made an effort to avoid being wasteful with food by re-incorporating leftover food from previous meals into new menus, such as re-incorporating leftover brisket and chicken from the day before into new meals.
Employees that serve the food also ask students about portion sizes in an attempt to avoid serving too much.
“There is really only so much Sodexo can do because it’s primarily a decision that student’s have to make to not over-serve themselves and not to ask for food they’re not going to eat,” Darby-McClure said.
The focus group and Sodexo want to urge student’s to be more conscious of their portion sizes and to avoid being wasteful when they eat in the caf.
Mickow refused to comment.
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