Invisible AI, real savings: The campus tech that’s slashing food waste and costs

Page Schult, CEO and co-founder of Topanga, explores how AI is reshaping campus operations beyond the classroom. As universities face tighter budgets and rising sustainability demands, she highlights how AI-driven dining and waste reduction programs are quietly cutting costs, reducing waste, and keeping institutions running efficiently.

As budgets shrink, universities are quietly using AI behind the scenes- not in lecture halls, but in kitchens and dorms- to cut waste and control costs.

Running a university has always involved a delicate balance of ideals and spreadsheets, but the math has turned brutal. Enrollment is flattening, state support is thin, and many campuses have trimmed hundreds of positions just to keep the lights on. While debates still go on about ChatGPT in the classroom, a quieter AI revolution is unfolding behind the scenes: the technology that keeps students fed, dorms supplied, and operations solvent.

The infrastructure you never see

Food-service is one of the largest cost centres on any campus and one of the messiest. Traditional dining programs routinely over-order, over-produce and throw away mountains of single-use packaging. Topanga’s ReusePass and Streamline platforms tackle those blind spots with machine learning and a few well-timed text messages.

AI is doing its most important work on campus in the places students don’t notice. It’s the plumbing that keeps universities running when budgets are tight.

From containers to cost savings

At universities using ReusePass, every takeaway bowl, cup or clamshell carries a unique QR code. Students scan once, eat wherever they like, then drop the container in a return bin. The system automatically pings them via SMS if they forget; no app downloads, swipe cards or extra hardware. The nudge is enough to drive ninety-eight-plus percent return rates across more than four-hundred-thirty commercial kitchens.

Those near-perfect loops matter. Each container reused dozens of times displaces stacks of disposables, trims purchasing budgets and slashes hauling fees. Facilities managers also get real-time dashboards that show exactly how many pounds of packaging have been avoided—a data point sustainability-minded students increasingly expect their schools to track.

Streamlining the food stream

Topanga’s second product suite, Streamline, brings clarity to the chaos of back-of-house waste. Smart sensors track what gets tossed and why helping kitchens cut overproduction, reduce ingredient costs, and plan meals with fewer surprises. The result: less waste, better prep, and time saved across the board.

Students want action, not slogans

Surveys show Gen Z undergrads rank climate action alongside affordability when choosing a school. A closed-loop dining program is tangible proof that administrators take those values seriously. Because ReusePass is virtually invisible; no plastic tokens, no cash deposits- uptake has been swift even among first-year students juggling move-in chaos.

Beyond the dining hall

Operational AI is also creeping into roommate assignments, campus fleets and event scheduling, but food remains the universal denominator. Every student eats, and every meal is an opportunity to save money and carbon at once. As more campuses sign on, aggregated data helps Topanga benchmark performance and refine its algorithms, compounding gains year over year.

Roughly one-third of private colleges are now operating at a deficit. Federal Pell Grant reforms and endowment taxes add further uncertainty. In that landscape, shaving two to five percent off operating costs without new head-count can spell the difference between thriving and surviving.

We’re not replacing staff—we’re giving stretched teams superpowers. The technologies that succeed are the ones nobody notices because they just work.

What’s next

Topanga is piloting integrations with inventory and point-of-sale systems to close the loop from purchase order to plate. The company is also exploring partnerships that would let students collect loyalty points for sustainable behaviour, further aligning eco-habits with the campus economy.

For now, the impact is measured in hard numbers: containers returned, pounds of food saved, dollars re-allocated. It is an unglamorous, essential story—the kind of operational triumph that rarely trends on social media yet quietly keeps institutions afloat.