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Creighton University Dining Hall Customers to Begin “Eating off the Tables”

In an initiative to move to a greener place, Creighton University Dining Services will have the Dining Hall customers eating off the tables. The slogan, rather tongue-in-cheek comes from an online article recently brought to our attention. The diners don’t actually eat directly from the table top, but rather give up their traditional cafeteria trays and bring their food to the table one plate at a time.

This is not a change in our all-you-care-to-eat policy, students and other customers will still be welcome to return to the many food stations including vegetarian options, traditional hot entrees, alad bar, grill, pizza and build your own sandwiches.  The program will primarily focus on reduction in waste of excess food, but side benefits including less use of labor, cooking energy, chemicals and the dish machine (energy and water) are expected to follow. When you think of the three “R’s” of green living - reduce/reuse/recycle  - reducing waste is something that everyone can get behind.

As part of the Creighton Sustainability Committee, University Dining Services currently participates heavily in both cardboard and cooking oil recycling.  Deep discounts are offered in take out style retail venues across campus to those who bring their own cup for beverages, up to 50¢ a serving.

Special efforts also include participation in Earth Day Celebrations including our PB & J specials and conducting food waste studies and going trayless trials in the Residence Dining Halls.

Local and regional purchasing is used for dairy, baked goods and seasonal produce. Students have made the organic Naked Juice a top seller at Jack & Ed’s, the Skutt Student Center C-Store.

Fair Trade coffee is served in all operations and with the new partnership with Green Mountain Coffee, paper Ecotainer cups replace the former Styrofoam combination cups that were used for hot beverages. 

In casual venues, Sodexo uses SCA xpressnaps made of 100% recycled fiber, 40% post consumer.  BY using these earth friendly napkins and the pop up dispensers, in Becker Dining Hall we can save the following:

We are pleased to announce our summer transition to Ecolab’s New APEX Warewashing Program.

This program will provides a sustainable warewashing solution that will benefit our customers and lower our environmental impact. This program improves our efficiency to decrease water and energy consumption and moves toward a more environmentally friendly, sustainable and non caustic formulation.

Annual water and energy savings based on a projected 10% reduction for a Brandies Dining Hall  

• 2792 Therms of natural gas >
• 87600 gallons of water >
• 49056 kilowatt hours of electricity >

Nationally Sodexo works with our prime suppliers Sysco and Pepsi for efficiencies in transportation. Sodexo is taking a position world wide on sustainability as part of their Corporate Responsibility Policy.