By Suha Choi ‘22
It should be no surprise to hear that COVID has brought many changes to policies at St. Mark’s. In fact, you must have heard it so many times that it’s surprising to hear someone still say it now. But that’s not where our conversation should stop. Among the many changes and trials that our community has endured in the past two years, we can also work to find compelling policies to stick to even after the pandemic ends. One of these new silver linings to COVID policies includes the takeout boxes at the dining hall. Since the week after our return from winter break, these boxes have been present, providing different options for students to eat and manage their safety. These boxes are not only COVID-safe. They can become our community’s next step towards sustainability and responsibility.
Only a couple of months ago, Ms. Lohwater, a faculty leader for sustainability group S4S, made a school meeting announcement about the concerning amount of food waste spotted at the dining hall. Takeout boxes are a great way to diminish food waste. For those who have small food portions, but get hungry easily, it is very comforting to know that they can eat throughout the evening hours if they feel hungry without forcing in a large amount of food at once. The best part of takeout boxes is that food will be available even after dining hall hours. This is a perfect option for students who are busy during lunch or dinner. Whether they had meetings during lunch hours, or evening practice, or simply weren’t feeling hungry at those times, takeout boxes can provide flexibility for students and create a sense of calm in an otherwise busy and stressful eating schedule. Students no longer have to rush out of the dining hall midway through, saying goodbye to half of their food. This will naturally diminish a lot of food waste at St. Mark’s, that is often caused by how busy St. Markers are.
A concern that most often arises from the post-COVID takeout dining option is that students might no longer go to the dining hall. Close interactions with friends from a day-to-day basis are an integral part of the St. Mark’s community, and there is no need for this to be dismissed. There is a rather simple solution: instead of plastic utensils and paper boxes, we can encourage students to bring their own plates and sustainable food containers. This allows St. Markers to engage in sustainability actively. Further, it’s much easier said than done to clean your utensils after every meal and carry them around your dorms. So naturally, even if this option is available, this won’t bring the end of dining hall interactions. Besides, students are having a more real young adult experience, navigating through different options, and understanding the responsibility behind choices even as simple as dining options. This is also a very simple yet clever way to appreciate the often-overlooked work of our very hard-working Flik staff members.
We’ve come to a point where we know we can do more than survive through this pandemic. Through trial and error, we look for new options that this unprecedented time has unfolded for us.
