Becca Self, Staff Writer

The Notre Dame Office of Sustainability’s mission statement is laudable, but cannot come true until students embrace the need to change their behavior.  Their statement reads thus:

“The pursuit of sustainability is directly related to the Catholic Mission of the University. Notre Dame recognizes its responsibility to conserve the natural environment while promoting long-term economic and social justice for all members of society and works to foster a pervasive focus on the connection between environmental stewardship and the Common Good.”

Anna Gorman, a senior at Notre Dame, works within the Office of Sustainability on the Waste-Free Wednesdays campaign.  Gorman and her coworkers aim to raise awareness about the impacts of wasteful behavior on the environment, economy and related human rights issues.  This month-long event has taken place every semester since the fall of 2010 due to the joint efforts of the Office of Sustainability, GreeND, Notre Dame Food Services and the Hunger Coalition.

Waste-Free Wednesdays give students an opportunity to win prizes if they clean their plates in the dining hall.  Gorman explained, “Our volunteers hand out raffle tickets to those who return clear trays, and at the end of the four weeks we select a winner for 100 Flex Points.”  Students can also donate to the Food Bank, where $1 buys 7 meals, and sign pledges to be more intentional about their food choices.  A new component of the campaign this semester is a Clean Plate Club raffle for those students who create no food waste on each of the four Wednesdays in April.

Marc Poklinkowski, the general manager of South Dining Hall, said, “It is a very difficult economic climate right now in terms of rising food prices…  We feel we’ve been able to maintain, and in many cases, improve on what we’ve been able to offer the students.”  But they need the students’ help to conserve resources and save money.

In addition to the Waste-Free Wednesdays campaign, the Office of Sustainability conducts Waste n’ Weighs each semester, in which student volunteers scrape waste off plates to measure and record it.  Poklinkowski reported, “Since we began the program in 2008, we’ve seen our average food waste per student drop from 5.02 ounces to 3.09 ounces.”  He attributes the change to the new, smaller trays at South.  “Students can no longer take that extra bowl of food…  A lot of students were very disappointed to see the smaller trays, but I think it has helped us become more environmentally friendly.  We appreciate the part they’ve played in helping us do that.”  The next Waste n’ Weigh study will be conducted during the first week in April.

Why do students take so much food?  Poklinkowski believes that “these habits are formed much earlier in life than in college.  The education and awareness of the waste issue plays a big role in improving these habits not only here in South Dining Hall, but for the rest of the student’s life.”  Students who never thought about their consumption habits before college are on track for wasteful behavior, especially since, as Gorman remarked, the food “feels free.”  Swiping an ID card at dinnertime does not feel the same as handing over $14.90 in cash.

It is crucial to remember that food waste has immediate effects on people’s lives, not just on the environment.  Many students at Notre Dame have never faced hunger as a side effect of poverty, but one in 6 Americans do.  Each year Americans throw out approximately 33 million tons of food, which is roughly 40 percent of the food produced in the country.  At Notre Dame, students waste over a ton of food each day.  How can such extravagant waste coexist with poverty and hunger?  Individual choices enable this disparity to occur.

In “Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions,” the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) discussed 7 themes that faithful Catholics ought to consider in everyday decision-making.  Among these responsibilities are caring for God’s creation and providing options for the poor and vulnerable.  According to the USCCB, “We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation.  Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith.  We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation…In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.”  These words, like the Office of Sustainability’s mission statement, are a challenge to Notre Dame students and people of faith everywhere.

So how can students act with the principles of sustainability in mind?  The possibilities include joining GreeND or Students for Environmental Action and volunteering to serve as the sustainability commissioner in a residence hall.  Students can make use of online resources such as the carbon footprint calculator to get a better grasp on how they impact the environment.  In their dorms, they can exchange incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent lights, recycle and unplug their electronics when not in use.   They can save money by bringing reusable mugs to fill up on coffee or tea.  Notre Dame also offers minors in Sustainability and Energy Studies.  The possibilities are endless.  The situation is dire.  What are we waiting for?

The Notre Dame Office of Sustainability will host Climate Change and the Common Good, a national conference addressing the multifaceted challenges presented by the changing climate, on Monday April 8 through Wednesday April 10.

Becca Self is a first year studying Business and Education, Schooling and Society.  If you see her in the dining hall with extra food on her plate, you have the right to throw fruit at her. Contact her at rself@nd.edu.