DU hospitality students focus on the idea of a “zero waste restaurant”
H.G. Parsa’s class poses with their Canstruction creation in the Anderson Academic Commons.
It turns out, not all cans are created equal. And to create the work of art on display at Anderson Academic Commons, students in H.G. Parsa’s “Restaurant Business” course had to find something just right.
The aluminum cylinders had to stack four feet high. They needed to be sturdy enough to sustain a 750-can exhibition. They needed to be the right color to project a University of Denver logo onto a white “canvas,” signifying an institutional commitment to fighting food waste and hunger.
“It’s an artistic representation of doing good and giving back,” said Roby Platt, one of the students who helped with the so-called “Canstruction” project. All 750 cans in the display will be donated to local nonprofit We Don’t Waste and a bin sits ready to collect donations from visitors. “The idea behind it is really to create visibility and awareness behind the idea of food insecurity in the world.”
According to We Don’t Waste, as many as 1 in 3 Coloradoans are unable to access the food that they need (a rate that’s even higher for people of color and households with children). At the same time, about 40% of all food goes unsold or uneaten in the United States, often ending up in landfills.
Parsa’s class is focused on building awareness about sustainability, waste and hunger through the concept of the “zero waste restaurant.” Teams of students are exploring ways to minimize the amount of food sent to landfills, promote reusable containers and design public awareness campaigns, like the Canstruction, an idea sparked by an international nonprofit by the same name. In all, the class is undertaking four experiential learning projects.
“I see this as a truly transformational experience because they’re combining social responsibility, sustainability [and] the economics of restaurant business,” Parsa said. “Once they understand hunger, they’ll learn not to waste. That’s the idea behind this whole project.”
To get started, Parsa, a professor of hospitality management, and his students visited a local Safeway grocery store on Evans Avenue, where they tested the “stackability” of several different cans and purchased them at a discount. They consulted with architect Brian Young to create a functional design. Then, the team—Platt, Isaac Knox-Warshaw, Olivia Castle, Charlotte Sargent and Jess Bryan—began the assembly.
“It was literally like setting up dominoes because if you knock one down, they all go,” Castle said. “It was like Jenga.”
They tried using tape and glue and, on more than one occasion, had to repair a portion of the project that collapsed.
“That’s all part of the fun,” Platt said. “Learning by doing, that kind of experimental learning piece that’s being showcased in the classes and learning by failure.”
Through it all, the students say they acquired a better understanding of networking, teamwork and budgeting, plus a clearer picture of a critical societal issue.
“Once you learn about [hunger and waste], you see it everywhere,” Bryan said. “I think being able to not only encourage others, but to kind of take it for yourself and going forward knowing what you want to do and how you want to help with the waste problem we have is more impactful.”
The students hope to make a Canstruction a recurring University project, perhaps even starting a club to participate in collegiate competitions.
But for now, the pupils and their professor are proud of the action they’ve taken and the impact it could have on the future.
“This is something they’ll never forget for the rest of their lives,” Parsa said. “If they were to go to the library and read one more paper, they may not remember it for long. The idea is experiential learning and practice. This experience is very transformational and it stays with them for the rest of their lives.”
The class’s project will be on display on the first floor of Anderson Academic Commons until June 8. Visitors are encouraged to bring cans of food for donation.