Purple is Going Green!

If you pop into Ames or the 1828 Café, you might now notice students and other members of the McKendree community carrying green boxes full of food. If so, you’re witnessing one of the university’s latest green initiatives in action – our bento boxes!

 

These handy boxes arrived on the scene this fall and replaced the Styrofoam containers that appeared during the COVID-19 pandemic when carryout became available in Ames Dining Hall. The previous containers remained after the pandemic partially because it helped transition students to being able to eat in-person again and partially because they were able to take advantage of enjoying a meal when time didn’t allow for them to eat in Ames or the 1828 Café. 

 

Unfortunately, that resulted in more Styrofoam heading to the dumpsters. Of course, McKendree took quick steps to find a remedy with these green bento boxes!

 

The process is easy: students with a meal plan and interested faculty and staff are issued a special token, which they turn in at Ames or 1828 Café to receive a bento box. They then return the box to the collection machine in either place at their convenience, and they receive their token once more in return.

 

“Having a carryout option on campus improved student satisfaction and helped them use their individual meal plans more,” said Chandler Morley, director of dining services at McKendree University. “We decided to invest fully with the bento boxes and the collection machines and issued all students living in the residence halls, West, and the Hunter Street apartments a token and token holder. The staff at Ames and 1828 wash the containers twice daily, and the process repeats itself.”

 

This free program is already beginning to pay for itself. Not only has there been a reduction in trash in the residence halls, but the bento boxes have also saved 7,000 disposable containers from going to the landfill during the fall semester alone!