“We can now buy a combination of four dishes for the price of two dishes, satisfying our need for a variety of cuisines while avoiding waste,” a student said. Recently, “platter” dishes were introduced by the campus canteens and have become popular among students. The 300 dishes served every day are often snapped up as soon as they are launched.

In the Jiandeyuan and Yifengyuan canteens, the signs which read “Practice Economy and Fight Waste” can be seen everywhere. In order to create the “Clearing Plates” fashion, the canteens not only launched smaller servings and weight-based dishes to meet the needs of students with different appetites, but also launched the “platter” dishes — four dishes which weigh 600 grams in total for a price of only 10 yuan. “When you choose to weigh dishes by yourself, you unconsciously choose more than you can eat. This kind of platter dish is not only cheap, but also has a balanced nutrition with meat and vegetables,” the students said.

In addition to changing the feeding mode, the canteens began to reduce waste in the process of procurement and production. For example, when purchasing vegetables, they try to buy those which can yield more dishes, like eggplant, pepper, horned melon, and so on. In the preliminary processing of dishes, to the root vegetables and those whose roots need to be removed, like tomatoes, they try to save the roots as much as possible, thus improving the yield rate of the vegetables. They also make the coriander roots and the celery leaves into pickles... “It is a good habit of frugality to eat up food to the last pieces. So far, the canteens’ kitchen waste has been reduced by more than 10 percent,” said Liu Qingguo, the general manager of the Logistics Services Head Office.

In order to encourage the students to form the habit of clearing their plates, the university launched the “21 days of clearing plates cultivation plan”, starting on November 1. The students clock in every day and those who keep clearing their plates for 21 days have the opportunity to get a free dining reward. “We designed different reward levels from 21 days to one day free dining. Although only around 200 students have participated in this activity, it will go on for years. I believe that after the first phase of the activity is over, when some students enjoy the rewards, more people will definitely participate in it,” said Song Tianyu, Deputy Secretary of the Youth League Committee.

Although the number of those who kept clearing their plates is not large, the canteens have seen a significant reduction in the amount of leftovers—from 60 barrels a day to 35 barrels a day, of which only half a barrel is available in the staff restaurant. “Small tables reflect great civilization. The staff should take the lead in curbing food waste, so that frugality becomes the norm,” said Zhang Zhikun, the Party Secretary.