Dining Services Goes Green

February 27, 2008

Alicia Duplessis
aduples@tulane.edu

Food trays in the Bruff Commons dining hall are a thing of the past now that Tulane Dining Services is making its campus dining facilities more eco-friendly.

Jeanne Charlebois, district marketing manager for Sodexo, the university's food service provider and partner in the "green" effort, says that removing the trays discourages students from taking more than they can eat. It also conserves water by eliminating the need to wash trays and additional plates.

"Energy will be conserved because the kitchen will eventually be able to prepare less food," says Charlebois. "Not only will this change bring environmental awareness to the students, it will also make their dining experience more upscale. All in all, it is a significant reduction in the carbon footprint at Tulane."

What was formerly a self-service deli in Bruff Commons now resembles a sandwich shop complete with a spread of several meats and cheeses and an attendant to prepare sandwiches. This method, Charlebois says, will change the student dining experience to one that is of restaurant quality.

"Our deli program is another example of how we can decrease food waste," says Charlebois. "Students used to overstuff their sandwiches and take more than they really needed, but now they just tell the prep what they want and it's fixed fresh for them right then."

According to Charlebois, the dining hall now offers fresh Louisiana produce and seafood, orders napkins made from recycled paper and uses environmentally friendly cleaning chemicals.

Uptown campus venues such as the McAlister Market and the Lavin-Bernick Center food court also are adopting more progressive dining options. The market now offers a variety of organic and vegan selections for students who wish to make healthy food choices, while the food court is giving patrons who dine in the option of having their meals placed on china plates instead of in to-go containers.

"This is going to take some time to catch on because here we have to educate people before we can make a difference in the choices they're making," says Charlebois.

Using dishes instead of to-go containers also will improve the dining experience, she says. "We want to help the environment and in doing so we plan to take our service up a notch."