Note: Campus Plate: Reducing Food Waste and Food Insecurity on College Campuses using Smartphones

Abstract

Food waste and food insecurity are prevalent challenges on college campuses. Studies show that approximately 30-40% of students are food insecure while over 22 million pounds of food on college campuses is wasted. Food waste also contributes to global warming where methane is produced in landfills and has a higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide. Several technical solutions have been proposed to reduce both food waste and food insecurity, however, there has been less focus on solving this challenge within college campuses. In this work, we present Campus Plate, a platform that allows members of the campus community to quickly identify and retrieve excess food from dining services and campus events. We describe the technical implementation and the people and partnerships that were established to ensure Campus Plate was successfully implemented on our campus where in a short period, over one thousand food items have been retrieved. Through Campus Plate, we are able to reduce food waste and food insecurity and contribute to a more sustainable college campus.