UI Dining implements new program, partners with Office of Sustainability to reduce food waste across campus

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August 16, 2019
Student reaches for apple at Catlett Marketplace UIOWA

As the new academic year begins, exciting new programs are ramping up in the University’s Housing & Dining department to reduce food waste across campus.

University Dining has adopted a new program called LeanPath, a food waste management system designed to help Dining staff assess and report on food waste losses in an effort to stop the losses-- saving food and funds. Since 2014, LeanPath has prevented over 36 million pounds of food from being wasted around the world by weighing food waste, calculating the financial and environmental impact of that waste, and educating staff on how to best prevent waste.

LeanPath is no stranger to the University of Iowa community. The University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics (UIHC) began using LeanPath in 2013 and reported to reduce food waste by 40%. The LeanPath program has proven successful on University campuses around the United States as well. Caitlin McClanahan, the Sustainability Manager at Berea College, uses LeanPath on that campus to reduce food waste. “Leanpath was critical in helping pinpoint the time of day and stations where waste was occurring,” Ms. McClanahan noted. “In less than one year we reduced pre-consumer food waste by 49%.”

“Leanpath was critical in helping pinpoint the time of day and stations where waste was occurring. In less than one year we reduced pre-consumer food waste by 49%.” - Caitlin McClanahan, Berea College

Jill Irvin, the Director of University Dining, is excited to see how much food waste can be reduced at UI Dining. “University Dining is always looking for ways to be more sustainable and efficient. We are excited to use the Leanpath Waste Management program to help us identify where food waste is occurring so that we can take steps to minimize it,” she said.

“University Dining is always looking for ways to be more sustainable and efficient. We are excited to use the Leanpath Waste Management program to help us identify where food waste is occurring so that we can take steps to minimize it." - Jill Irvin, Director of University Dining, University of Iowa

Last year, in the four major buildings where food is prepared and served on campus, the University recycled 462,900 lbs of materials, composted 620,440 lbs of organics, and landfilled 971,540 lbs of waste. Their waste diversion rate for the year was 52.7% -- just 7.3% short of the campus wide sustainability goal for 2020.

In an effort to make the most of this new program and ensure food waste decreases, UI Dining is also collaborating with the Office of Sustainability and the Environment. Together, they will task a student intern to work with LeanPath food waste data and Dining team members, “attacking” food waste from multiple angles. With Leanpath and the help of a student intern, they may be able to develop new solutions and reach a rate of 60% waste diversion by the end of the year.

Stratis Giannakouros, the Director of the Office of Sustainability, looks forward to the collaboration and the unique opportunity provided by the internship for UI students. “We are excited to work closely with [Jill Irvin’s] team in Dining to provide a student with an opportunity to engage in a data-driven approach to sustainability on campus,” he said. “Student-centered opportunities that utilize the campus as a living-learning laboratory and provide students with a chance to build analytical skills constitute the model we want to continue to develop at the University of Iowa.”

“We are excited to work closely with [Jill Irvin’s] team in Dining to provide a student with an opportunity to engage in a data-driven approach to sustainability on campus. Student-centered opportunities that utilize the campus as a living-learning laboratory and provide students with a chance to build analytical skills constitute the model we want to continue to develop at the University of Iowa." - Stratis Giannakouros, Director of the Office of Sustainability & the Environment, University of Iowa

To learn more about UI Dining’s sustainability initiatives, visit: https://dining.uiowa.edu/sustainability.