Susquehanna reducing food waste with Aramark partnership

Marcia Moore, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·2 min read

Dec. 11—Food waste is being reduced at Susquehanna University through a collaboration between the Selinsgrove school's Office of Sustainability and dining services provider Aramark.

Every day, Aramark dining staff collect pre-consumer food waste at Evert Dining Room in five-gallon buckets that are delivered to the campus garden by employees from facilities management. Student employees at the garden turn the compost regularly and then use it to fertilize and cultivate crops.

"In Pennsylvania, nearly 40 percent of the waste (that is) sent to landfills or incinerated consists of organic waste. As it decays, it generates methane, a greenhouse gas that poses a greater threat to both the environment and human health compared to carbon dioxide," said Drew Hubbell, associate professor of English and chair of Susquehanna's Sustainability Committee. "Diverting food waste from landfills to composting reduces greenhouse gas emissions, conserves natural resources and practices circular economy principles of reduce, reuse and recycle."

Patrick Cross, a senior from Middletown, N.J., and Sarah Joy, freshman from Palm Bay, Fla., are in charge of managing the buckets of compost.

"Our involvement in this project stems from a commitment to aiding Susquehanna University in its sustainability objectives for the university's 2026 strategic plan," the students said in a prepared statement. "Our contribution involves developing both short- and long-term goals toward waste reduction and enhancing the campus environment through cultivation."

Susquehanna's 15,000-square-foot Campus Garden grows more than 30 different varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs in 50 raised beds and six in-ground plots.

All of the food it produces is donated to local organizations including Haven Ministry in Sunbury and the Regional Engagement Center in Selinsgrove.

In addition to pre-consumer waste, since October, dining services has collected all solid post-consumer food waste — roughly 12-14 five-gallon buckets per day — and donated it to a local farm.