New AI-powered food monitoring system to be implemented in all 14 residential college dining halls
Beginning this fall, dining hall kitchens will track the produce and meal period for waste disposed of in compost bins. Yale Hospitality expects a 20 percent decrease in food waste during the first year.
Tenzin Jorden, Senior Photographer
Dining hall kitchens across all 14 residential colleges will start monitoring and analyzing kitchen food waste with new AI-powered technology starting this fall, according to a Yale News press release.
In dining hall kitchens, the system includes a downward facing camera above a compost bin on a scale. The data gathered will give the chefs insights by product and meal period, allowing them to see the amounts of food disposed for any given meal. The new technology is an expansion of a system first introduced in select dining locations in March of this year, according to the press release.
In interviews with the News, students shared positive views on the system being installed in kitchens.
“I think it would be a good idea to be more aware of your [food] waste,” Henry Sol ’28 told the News.
The News reached out to Yale Hospitality for further comment on how the system works, however they directed the News toward a video overview of the topic published by Yale News.
In the video demonstration, Daniel Flynn, director of asset renewal and planned projects at Yale Hospitality, demonstrated how the system would work. He said that trimmings and food that weren’t able to go to a food rescue organization or be repurposed would be dumped into the compost bin.
Upon dumping in green beans into the compost bin, the touch screen mounted on the nearby wall displayed eight guesses to what the waste might be, as well as the mass of the waste. When Flynn selected the “Green Beans” option, it prompted the screen to ask when the green beans were wasted, including options of “Lunch,” “Dinner,” and “Cooking.” The system then gave an estimate of the monetary cost of the green beans.
In addition to allowing chefs to see the amount of food wasted in a given meal, chefs also use the data to change the produce ordered, change cooking procedures or utilize the data in staff training. Yale Hospitality plans to reduce food waste by 20 percent this year and 30 percent next year.
“The more our staff is aware of what they’re throwing away, and the better the job we do purchasing, the more we can reduce our waste,” Flynn said in the press release. “It’s just the right thing to do.”
Desmond Mehta ’28 believed the stated goal to reduce 20 percent reduction in food waste was possible, adding that he “could see that happening.”
When asked about the system being AI-powered, Mehta — who plans to major in computer science and electrical engineering — expressed indifference saying that “everyone says AI now, it doesn’t matter anymore.” Yale residential colleges serve more than two million meals annually.