Rollins College Dining Combats Food Insecurity and Waste

Rollins College Dining is taking bold steps to tackle food insecurity and waste, combining thoughtful donation programs with cutting-edge technology to make a meaningful impact both on and off campus.

At the heart of Rollins’ donation efforts is a robust system to ensure surplus food reaches those in need. All leftover foods that have not entered the dining room — in accordance with health code standards — are safely stored in a dedicated kitchen freezer. Dining staff carefully package the items for weekly pickup by a local food donation center. In 2024 alone, the program donated 5,800 pounds of food to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Additionally, the campus convenience store contributes dry goods to a student food pantry to support Rollins students facing food insecurity.

On the sustainability front, Rollins Dining has embraced two powerful tools to reduce food waste: an ORCA biodigester and the WasteWatch by Leanpath program.

The ORCA system breaks down food waste into a liquid within 24 hours using a natural biological process. The resulting material flows through existing plumbing and is recycled at wastewater treatment facilities, where nutrients are extracted for renewable energy or land application.

WasteWatch by Leanpath helps the dining team track and analyze food waste using a WiFi-enabled scale and data system. Employees weigh and log waste, noting where it originated — from overproduction to improper handling. The data allows Rollins to pinpoint causes and adjust accordingly.

In 2022, Rollins recorded $10,438 in food waste, with $7,089 attributed to overproduction and $1,346 to cooking and handling errors. Following operational changes, food waste in 2023 dropped to $2,406, with no waste due to handling issues.

Since launching WasteWatch in 2018, Rollins Dining has prevented $32,576 in food waste, avoided 166 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, recorded $67,600 in total waste, and saved the equivalent of 43,670 meals.