Last week, 1,876 Mensa-goers ate their food with out having a tray to carry it on. Trayless week was an attempt to reduce food waste as part of Earth Week.

Food waste was reduced by 289 pounds—89 pounds of solids and 20 gallons of liquids on Tuesday alone. Wartburg is the first college in the Midwest to experiment with trayless dining.

The goal of going trayless was to make students aware of the amount of food they take. Trayless dining conserved food, water, soap and electricity.

Deanna Williams, Dining Services employee, said students have had various reactions. “I think it depends on the student. You know, a lot of them that are more conscious about ‘be green’ and that type of thing. I think they’re more receptive to it than the ones that maybe don’t care as much,” she said.

Students saw advantages and disadvantages to trayless dining.

“I don’t necessarily like it because I have to go back for things, but we are saving some food, which is good,” Laura Bancourt said.

“I think it is a good experiment to see so that the students see how much food we are actually wasting. But I would like to go back to trays,” she added.

“I think it’s alright. I’m able to carry all my food on one plate and I eat it all. I don’t waste as much food. Also, when you sit down with a big group of friends, you don’t have to deal with the trays,” Jack Stout said. 

Megan Gronholm has been dining without a tray for the majority of the year. She said she had trouble carrying all her food when she began. But now she is able to carry it all in one trip. Gronholm said it helps her take smarter proportions.

“Some people argue that it’s an inconvenience, but I can eat without a tray and still get out of there in 15 minutes,” Gronholm said.

The Mensa saved food, preparation labor, dish room labor, water usage and cleaning chemicals used in the dish machine, Tonya Derner, Dining Services employee, said.