 "Photo: Nick Kneer")
The first day Jake Swope came into a UT dining hall, he read the insert in a napkin holder that read "Dude, where's my tray?"
The insert listed statistics making a case for trayless dining halls, which is what Aramark, UT's campus dining service provider, plans to implement on campus.
Swope, a freshman majoring in accounting, agreed with Aramark's plan.
"I think that wasting food is costing me money," he said.
He's not the only one supportive of the plan.
Alexis Autry, a freshman majoring in professional sales, finds food trays cumbersome.
"They get in the way," he said.
Aeriale Harris, a freshman majoring in nursing, agrees.
"I have more room at the table [without the trays]," she said
According to the Associated Press, 50 to 60 percent of Aramark's 500 campus partners are expected to go trayless.
Aramark has placed the "Dude, where's my tray?" informational cards in napkin holders in all the dining halls at UT to inform students about eliminating trays.
The insert lists several points for getting rid of their trays, including reducing waste by 25 to 30 percent per person and saving 500 gallons of water because each tray needs one third to half a gallon of water to clean.
"I eat six meals a day, and [each time] I have to make 30 trips, and that wastes more time. But if it's saving money, I'm okay with it," said Aaron Collins, a junior majoring in nursing.
The 25-university study through Aramark included the University of Maine at Farmington and Grand Valley State University in Michigan.
Sonja Jovin, a freshman in physical therapy likes to have trays to carry her plates to the table.
"It sucks, I don't like it. I'd rather have a tray," Jovin said.
But after reading the handout inserted into the napkin holder, Jovin agreed and said that it makes sense.
Julie Archer, Aramark's resident district manager of dining services, said the idea has been a trend in campus dining.
"It's one of the green initiatives that campuses can do," she said.
Archer said the idea started when they were talking to student organizations before Aramark signed the contract.
The students expressed one thing they would like to concentrate on is green initiatives, she said, and the students were impressed when going trayless in dining halls was brought up.
"It doesn't really bother me. It'd be nice to have trays, though, because without it, I have to set my food down before going back to the food line," said Danielle Burkhardt, a freshman majoring in nursing.
With the dining hall in Parks Tower closed during the first week of the semester, that's one less dining hall where students can eat. Students, for the most part, are only concerned about one thing, Archer said. "They just want to get food at this point."
Beside the few upperclassmen who were sad they couldn't sled on dining hall trays anymore, Archer said she has not received any negative feedback from students yet.
"I can't eat as much, and I wouldn't eat as much. I like it better without trays," said Kris Kollini, a sophomore majoring in finance.
As for those who are handicapped, trays are available for them, and they can have someone help them with their trays, too.
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