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Tips for Reducing Waste

  • Plan your meal – Menus are available online and at each location. Planning your meal reduces the likelihood of taking more than you will eat. Know your options by planning ahead, or simply looking around at all your options before you start gathering food.
  • Make multiple trips – All-you-care-to-eat dining offers many options, which can lead to our eyes being larger than our appetite. Start small and go back for more if you are still hungry.
  • Ask for a sample – when trying something new, or that you are not sure you will like, ask the server for a sample.
  • Define your portion size – your servers will use a standard portion size. If that looks to be larger than you want at first, ask for a smaller portion.
  • Try trayless – Trays offer a convenience, but allow us to cary more per trip than most will eat in a meal. Skipping on the tray is one way to help in taking only what you will eat.
Have an idea, tip or suggestion? Send us an e-mail or video to mufood@missouri.edu
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Tracking the Waste

Each week, 100 consecutive trays are randomly sampled at lunch or dinner. All edible food and beverage are collected and weighted (no peels, bones or ice). The total weight is converted to ounces and divided by 100 to get an average per person. This same process is followed at every all-you-care-to-eat facility.

By the Numbers

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Finding the Impact

Reducing waste has many important ecological and economical benefits. Wasted food has one of two destinations. Solid waste in the trash ends up at landfills where it is unable to breakdown properly. The remaining solid and liquid waste is processed through in-sink garbage disposals; its final destination being water treatment facilities, where large amounts of energy and chemicals must be used in treating the water.

Campus Dining Services uses computerized tracking to anticipate and prepare only the food that is needed. As less food is wasted, less food is purchased and prepared. Continued reduction in waste reduces energy used in storing, transporting, and producing food. Continued reduction in demand lowers costs and frees up agricultural resources for other purposes.