Beyond the Classroom

Thanks to a student-led charge, MSU will be piloting reusable containers for mobile orders in the dining halls for the first time in the Fall 2022 semester. A group of students from several organizations met weekly during the Spring 2022 semester to research and develop a plan to use reusable containers on campus. Within that one semester, the group developed a plan and a presentation that will be piloted in the fall.

“It's really impressive what they accomplished in that short amount of time,” Carla Iansiti, Residential Hospitality Services Sustainability Officer, said, “It was quite extensive work.”

Iansiti helped to guide the students on their research, which included evaluating products from different vendors, researching reusable container programs at other institutions, and developing surveys and focus groups to get feedback from students at MSU. The group met directly with vendors to discuss their products as well.

“The vendors that met with us said that they had never had student groups talk with them before,” Iansiti said. “There were a couple times that they put the vendors on the spot too.”

Guest speakers also came in to talk to the group throughout the semester, and the students stayed focused on creating a sustainable, cost-effective program for students to participate in.

“They were very worried about food insecurities. They wanted to make sure everyone had accessibility,” Iansiti said. “Their social justice lens on this was pretty incredible.”

The group presented their findings and proposal to culinary leadership on a Friday morning the week before finals week, and the proposal will be put into action this fall as students will have the option of receiving their mobile food orders in reusable containers in both Holden and Holmes Halls. But the work does not end there, as the group will work to promote the program and encourage students to participate in the hopes of expanding the use of reusable food containers on campus.

“They're going to continue to advocate for it when they come back this fall. We'll get more people on board,” Iansiti said.