About the same time, Bostic came across a USA Today article that reported more than 30 percent of colleges across the nation had decided to go tray-less.
?This is crazy,? Bostic said of her initial reaction to the story. ?I don?t want to do this.?
But she sent the article to Glanzer, who passed it on to other college administrators.
?Everyone supported (going tray-less),? Bostic said, ?so we decided to go with it.
?There will be positive things I think you?ll notice by us managing the kitchen in a different way.?
Bostic is no stranger to working a large kitchen. She was employed by PCC at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio before her daughter Hannah was born.
She took a five-year break before joining PCC again in 2003 when the Tabor food service manager quit just before the fall semester.
?I serve two masters,? Bostic said, referring to Tabor and PCC.
PCC, a contract food service company based in Lenexa and Nashville, Tenn., furnishes cafeterias at 50 Christian-based colleges and universities.
?We would cater in a canoe at the Marion Reservoir if (Tabor) asked us to,? Bostic said.
This year, the cafeteria is also beginning to cater to the environment. Water and energy conservation and less food waste are the major ways that going tray-less will help benefit the environment, Bostic said.
She noted that while food prices have increased 7 percent, campus food consumption has also increased because of the continuously open cafeteria and the large freshman class.
But without trays, students don?t pile on as much food they won?t eat while going through the line.
?It?s going to take a few years for people to get used to it, but it really cuts back on our waste,? Bostic said. ?It really hasn?t been as much as a problem as I thought it would be.?
The choice to go tray-less this year with the large freshman class was a smart move, Bostic said. However, some returning students seem to be feeling a little bit of a loss.
The missing legendary green tray, a staple piece of campus lore believed to bring good dating luck, has some students concerned.
But some ideas are in the works for students who are worried about help in their love lives.
?I?m in the search for a green plate,? Bostic said.
The article appeared in the recent edition of the Tabor College View and is reprinted with permission.
