Host a collection drive to recover missing serviceware.
Williams College collected 400 plates, a remarkable number of utensils and almost 300 glasses during a weeklong collection drive at the end of the 2008 spring semester. The college had made a $6,000 investment in replacement serviceware and had made back between $1,500 and $2,000.²

The success of the drive has prompted the school to host another serviceware drive at the end of the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 semesters. "We anticipate $3,000 to $4,000 in serviceware to be returned during the second drive," said Chris Abayasinghe, Assistant Director of Student Dining.

The best time to host a serviceware drive is at the end of the semester when students are packing up to go home, Abayasinghe said. He suggests promoting serviceware drives online, through daily messages across campus and by working with students to create flyers for dorms and to make announcements during classes.

Williams College plans to use the funds saved on serviceware to buy foods locally. "Williams is a small campus and is well known for students that are focused on sustainability," Abayasinghe said. "Our goal is to support sustainability and local farms."

Tips to help students save.⁶
Post these tips in your cash operations to help college and university students trim food costs.

• Use perishable foods within two to three days, or freeze for future meals.
• Keep a running list of prices for favorite items and stock up during sales.
• Ask for a rain check to buy sales items (that are sold out) later at the same low price.
• Buy foods that provide the most grams of protein per dollar, such as bagged dried beans, lentils, peas, dry milk powder, canned tuna and peanut butter.

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