A napkin container in the Hickey Dining Hall with info on Albi
Photo: Chris Doody
BY CHRIS DOODY, NEWS EDITOR
St. Bonaventure University is partnering with Albi, a start-up company working to help students in higher education understand the impact of food waste, to reduce food waste in the Hickey Dining Hall, following the University’s Franciscan values.
“St. Bonaventure has a strong commitment to sustainability, deeply rooted in Franciscan values,” said Nicole Clark, Aramark’s general manager; Aramark provides food for all dining options on campus. “When the opportunity arose to partner with Albi, we saw it as a natural extension to university sustainability efforts.”
Kristen Ryan, a lecturer of marketing, and her Food Systems class are working with Albi to try and combat issues with food waste on campus.
“Food waste is a food system failure, food insecurity is a food system failure; my class is working on discussions on how to tackle these issues,” said Ryan. “Fr. [Steve], Alice Miller Nation and I have had a few meetings to figure out a hands-on project where students in the class could really get engaged with problems.”
The Hickey is only able to do so much to stop food waste; most of it relies on students, said Ian Aigner, a senior marketing major.
“It’s hard to put it on the Hickey to implement it, a lot of the work comes down to consumer education,” said Aigner. “The only thing the Hickey can really do is scoop smaller portions, and students can go back up and get more if they need to.”
Albi installed software to track food waste behind the Hickey.
“Albi has tools and sales behind the scenes of the Hickey that measure the food waste every day and sends results back to Albi to be analyzed,” said Ryan.
One of Albi’s main goals is to make students aware of food waste, said Aigner.
“Albi is education-driven, trying to get students aware of food waste and understanding that their actions have an impact,” said Ryan.
Albi publishes weekly articles on its website and sends them directly to students who sign up for their updates.
“Alby is doing some educational pieces,” said Aigner. “St. Bonaventure has already reduced its food waste 11.9% in the spring semester,” said Aigner.
Students here are making great progress, according to Albi’s site.
Hartwick College was one of the first higher education institutes to implement Albi’s systems.
“Hartwick College only reduced 12% through their entire campaign,” said Aigner. “So, our campus has had a really good start so far.”
In order to understand how much our campus is reducing food waste, it is important to pay attention to how much food you are not eating off your own plate, said Aigner
“Albi will make people be more food conscious here on campus and hopefully at other places as well,” said Aigner.
With Albi, the Hickey will be able to adjust production to waste less food based on eating habits, said Clark.
“Understanding post-consumer waste trends at Hickey provides valuable insights into the broader food service cycle,” said Clark. “By tracking waste patterns, we can make data-driven decisions that optimize food preparation while still meeting the needs of the Bonaventure community.”
Lowering the food waste on campus will create a more sustainable environment, said Clark.
“If we can decrease the amount of post-consumer waste we’re producing, we’re able to create a more efficient food system at St. Bonaventure, which ultimately has the impact of benefitting our planet,” said Clark.
Tackling food waste seems like it could be overwhelming, but taking it on slowly at a smaller scale makes it much more manageable, said Aigner.
“Food waste as a whole in the world seems like a problem that you could never tackle,” said Aigner. “It just seems completely overwhelming, but I think Albi is a great way to realize that our small campus can make a difference, and so can campuses across the country.”
Students can find more information on Albi here https://albi-sbu.beehiiv.com.
