Food for Thought: Mission Vista’s New and Improved Lunch Trays
It’s actually a bigger deal than we thought.
Last Wednesday, Timberwolves took notice of the new, eco-friendly lunch trays that circulated about campus. The swap, as modest and as quietly executed as it was, serves VUSD a helping of conservation -both financially and environmentally.
Upon the debut of these grayish-brown, highly compartmentalized
lunch trays, students immediately took a liking to their efficiency. Senior Louie Aguilar noted, “They’re better than the other ones. They’re bigger, they can hold more.”
Before, students were accustomed to smaller, single-sectioned lunch trays, commonly referred to as “ boats.” Although familiar, the institutional, paper boats may have posed more problems than they were worth.
Colleen Kelly, WaveCrest Cafe staff member recalls, “We were getting too much waste with the boats. People were taking two or three, and only using one of them.” With the new trays, she explains, “kids tend to take more fruits and vegetables and we’re not using quite as much cardboard.”
An average six-school district supplies 225 million paper trays per year. Most of these wind up in landfills where they leak pollutants into the water and air. Also, the “ little bit of coating on them,”
as Kelly says, won’t break down for hundreds of years.
This is a stark contrast to the new lunch trays, which are highly biodegradable and made of recycled newsprint. When deposited in a landfill, trays such as these take a couple of weeks to break down- at least.
“I’m happy that the school is making the push to ethical and sustainable practices.” says senior, Annie Mitchell. “People tend not to care about future generations, because we aren’t going to be alive, but I think that’s an ignorant way of thinking.”
Just two days into the swap, and the WaveCrest Cafe is already noting remarkable progress in terms of sustainability. Cafe staff admit that they still use the old “boats” to serve breakfast, but since the biodegradable trays are zero-waste, the garbage is still much less than before.
Kelley estimates, “We were going through almost 1000 boats between breakfast and lunch. Now we’ve cut it down to 250 for breakfast and then hardly anything for lunch.”
Despite their benefits for the environment, the new, biodegradable trays are more expensive in cost. However, the expenditure is seen by MVHS as an investment, since the plan is to reduce the wasteful habits of students. By throwing away unused boats, students were also throwing away money spent by the district.
“The boats are cheaper” says Kelley, “But if you’re taking 2 or 3 of them and not even using them, it’s just wasting. We are actually looking for a club that’ll help us promote the recycling of the new trays.”
Both students and teachers recognize the positive effects of the switch in materials. Senior, Cameron Palombo, claims, “ It’s probably better overall, because it’s more cost efficient, and in turn, it becomes more environmentally friendly. I don’t really see a reason not to use them.”
Perhaps Ashley Atkins, who teaches AP Government, ethnic studies, and PLUS, sums it up best when she says of Mission Vista, “ If we’re an innovative school, we should be innovative in all realms.” Undoubtedly, that includes lunch.
Who knew trays were so important?