It had to happen: slapping the greedy hand reaching out to sup at the trough of plenty. This CNN report details a new way colleges around the country are cutting down on food and water waste, while at the same time helping keep students hungry.

It's a simple idea really: Stop stocking college food halls with the common food tray. Colleges around the country have excised the trays from their larders and are seeing some pretty green results.

Two nationwide surveys conducted by Aramark, the country's largest university and college food servicer, found a 25-30% reduction in food waste per person when trays were not available. Makes sense -- especially when your eyes are bigger than your stomach during the lunch hour. Basically this means making students eat only what they can carry. You can imagine the cost savings for university and college food service providers.

And you can imagine the grumblings of hungry college students. Maybe they haven't learned about "going back for seconds" yet.

You know that old dieter's trick of putting your food on a smaller plate? The food looks bigger and you eat less. Colleges around the country are trying out a modified version of the plan by getting rid of cafeteria trays. Kids are taking less food and throwing out less food. And nobody has to stock and wash all those trays. Aramark, which runs cafeterias at 500 campuses, says removing trays cuts food waste by 25 to 30%.

The cafeteria giant thinks half of its customers will get rid of trays. They've done a white paper on schools that have tried to go trayless. Every time you use a tray someone back in the kitchen uses one-third to one-half gallon of water to clean it. Trayless eaters waste 1.2 to 1.8 ounces less food per meal, or somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 pounds a year. Food waste isn't defined in the paper, but I assume it means just what you throw out after the meal. The University of Maine at Farmington removed trays in February, 2007 and thinks they've saved $57,000 since then.

It's unclear, though, whether the schools are saving the money or Aramark is. Perhaps a mixture of both since the school would be the one supplying water and power. The study doesn't go into if going trayless actually cuts overall food consumption. That could offer some real health benefits. And it could mean that Aramark's costs come down significantly (or at least lessened the impact of rising food costs). The company has done some great work pointing out how accepting this simple inconvenience can save food, water, time and energy. I just hope the colleges will get to share in that bounty.

This year, I've gone crazy for preserves, spending each weekend madly mashing berries and standing expectantly over pots of simmering water waiting for pickles or jam or chutney to be ready to lift out and label. As I've become more connected to the state of my pantry, I've also been taking a closer look at the fruit trees and vines in my neighborhood, instead of thinking "what a mess!" when I see squished cherries all over the sidewalk, instead, I assess the tree for pickability. This past week, I picked 10 or 15 pounds of apples from my neighborhood for jelly, and harvested grape leaves (to pickle for dolmades), grapes and plums from my sister-in-law's new rental house.

I know I'm not the only one paying attention to whether or not our "food capital" is being wasted. Not only do I have company on my wild blackberry-picking expeditions, but major European grocery chain Sainsbury's has "discovered" that people are eating their leftovers. 62% of consumers are "concerned about food waste" due to rising cost of groceries. As such, they're digging into their fridge and finishing off that leftover casserole; definitely a good thing for all involved.

One lesson I've learned this year, in penance for my past wastefulness (how many half-used veggies and fruits have I let rot in the fridge? too many to count), is how to preserve leftover produce with simple techniques like lacto-fermentation and vinegar or brine pickling. When I have too much zucchini or green beans, I'll throw some in a crock and start a batch of delicious spicy pickles or relish. I recommend Wild Fermentation and Blue Ribbon Preserves as places to start if you, too, want to stop wasting your precious food resources!