As I’m sure many of you have noticed, the cafe now serves its meals on ceramic plates. I first noticed this development at 6:55 on a Wednesday night. Nobody came to my tutoring session, so I left early to grab dinner before the cafe closed. As I walked in, I noticed the change in the plates and utensils. ‘Well, this is new’ was pretty much the extent of my reaction, that is, until the paper and plastic returned just a few days later. Over the next few days, the dishwasher seemed to be having an existential crisis, trying to decide whether or not to work. As of this moment, it seems to have settled into working; the real plates are here to stay.
According to Chef Linda, a General Manager for the catering service Bon Appétit, this assessment is correct. The chain was old, and became weak from disuse during Covid. It snapped when the dishwasher was restarted, but has since been replaced. This means there should be no more intrusions of disposable dishes, except on Friday evenings and Saturdays, as cafe employees are encouraged to rest on the Sabbath.
Chef Linda explained that reusing dishware is less wasteful, for both the economics of Bon Appétit and the environment. Paper plates are easy to buy in small quantities, but in bulk they are very expensive. The Cafe dishwater is cheaply supplied from Andrews, and the cafe uses environmentally friendly detergent. The disposable plates and utensils are all compostable, but the decrease in use still is better for the environment.
In addition to being cheaper, Chef Linda hoped that real plates would help students feel more at home on campus, as many families use real plates instead of paper ones. I took this as a hypothesis and casually asked other students their opinions on the new dishes. The feedback was mostly positive. There was only one person I spoke to with a complaint. They didn’t want their name repeated, as they mentioned that it’s harder to sneak food out now. Other students were more enthusiastic, however. “It's a good thing because the cafe is making less trash,” said Melissa Moore (sophomore, nutrition). Personally, I think this change is a step in the right direction. Chef Linda told me that the Cafe is now back to normal; the pasta bar, sandwich grill, and real plates, which disappeared during Covid, have returned. I’m glad the drama with the dishwasher is over, and we have ceramic plates. It will certainly help the meals feel a little closer to home.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 老司机传媒. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 老司机传媒 or the Seventh-day Adventist church.