If you are a first or secondyear student, you have never had the luxury of using a cafeteria tray. Pre-COVID-19, there was already a target on the back of Caf trays. Many theorized that the use of these trays increased food waste because it allowed students to carry multiple plates at the same time. There were even days where the trays were taken away to see how students dealt without them, which were quickly followed by backlash.Once the pandemic started, trays were immediately removed from the cafeteria. While it made some sense during the height of COVID-19, since the virus can live on many surfaces, it no longer does. The trays were always cleaned, so the risk of spreading COVID-19 via tray was virtually nonexistent. Now that most of campus is vaccinated, Caf trays would essentially be a non-risk, and at the very least one that people should be able to choose for themselves.
So why haven’t the trays made a return? Is it because of food waste? Without a tray, I can get one plate and hold my phone safely, or run the risk of dropping everything by trying to hold more. This results in multiple trips, which increases congestion in the Caf. Furthermore, does it really decrease food waste? Anyone can keep going back up and getting multiple plates, it’s just annoying. There has been a lot of backlash against the Caf due to a lack of staffing and food options, which are understandably more difficult problems to solve. While bringing back trays would require extra washing, it would be a small change that would make a lot of people happy. Bon Appetit did not respond in time for comment.
Bekki Antonelli is from
Wellesly, Mass.
Her major is computer science.
