At East China University of Science and Technology, students who finish their food in the campus canteen get a coupon when they return their tray. Students can collect coupons and exchange them for small gifts, such as books, magazines, mobile phone covers and hand warmers.
在华东理工大学，在校内食堂就餐的学生，只要能吃光食物，在送回餐盘时就能获得一张优惠劵。学生们可以收集这些优惠券，用来换取像书籍、杂志、手机壳、暖手袋等小礼物。
“It’s been such a surprise,” said Liang Zhaoyun, 19, a sophomore majoring in biology at the university in Shanghai. “It’s given us one more motivation to finish our food.”
“这真令人惊喜，”，就读于该校生物专业大二年级、19岁的梁朝云（音译）表示。“这一举措让我们更有动力参与光盘行动。”
The move is part of a national campaign organized by students to tackle food waste on campuses.
学生们在全国高校自发组织了一系列“杜绝舌尖上的浪费”活动，而以上举措只是其中一部分。
Why only on campuses, you might ask? Because according to a report by Xinhua News Agency, students waste twice as much food as the national average.
你也许会问：为什么只在校园内活动？原因是：据新华社报道，学生浪费的食物数量是全国平均量的两倍。
The awareness campaign on campus food waste is gaining momentum across the country. Shanghai Youth League Committee and Shanghai Student Association launched the initiative in Shanghai.
这一校园抵制食物浪费的行动在全国各地迅速展开。上海共青团和上海市学生联合会率先在当地发起该活动。
“The aim of the campaign is not only to encourage students to finish their food. We hope it can also motivate students to choose a more environment-friendly and healthy lifestyle,” said Tao Siliang, secretary of the Youth League Committee at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
“本次活动不仅旨在鼓励学生加入‘光盘一族’，我们也希望藉此鼓励学生选择一种更环保、更健康的生活方式，”上海中医药大学团委书记陶思亮如是说。
But some canteen food is poorly prepared, meaning that students are reluctant to finish it all. Some schools have taken note of this.
然而，一些食堂的饭菜确实难以下咽，这就意味着学生们不愿“光盘”。一些学校已经注意到了这点。
Wang Guangji, vice-president of China Pharmaceutical University, has lunch in the campus canteen nearly every day to keep an eye on the food quality.
为了监督饭菜的质量，中国药科大学副校长王广基几乎每天中午都到食堂就餐。
“The dishes in our canteen are all right, generally speaking. But of course it’s difficult to cater for all tastes. Most students are the only child in their family, so some of them are spoilt and aren’t used to some of the dishes,” said Wang.
“我们食堂的菜总体上都还不错，当然还是很难照顾到每个人的口味。很多学生都是独生子女，其中一些更是被宠坏了，根本吃不惯一些菜。”王广基副校长说道。
Other universities also pay attention to the quantity of food. At Nanjing University, rice is divided into three different-sized bowls that students can choose from according to their appetite.
其他一些高校还注重食物的份量。在南京大学，米饭被盛装在三种不同大小的碗里，这样一来学生们就可以依据自己的饭量来选择。
“I like to try different dishes at each meal. Before I had to throw away a lot of food because the portions were too big. But now the canteen offers half portions. It’s great because I can try different dishes at half price and don’t waste so much food,” said Fan Peng, 18, a freshman majoring in English at Nanjing University.
“每顿饭我喜欢尝试一些不同的菜肴。因为份量实在太足了，之前我不得不浪费许多食物。但现在食堂可以打半份。真是太好了，这样我就可以花半价来品尝不同菜肴，又不会浪费很多食物了。”来自南京大学英语专业的大一新生、18岁的范鹏（音译）说道。
So what if you really can’t finish all your food? At Changchun Normal University the canteen provides a take-away service. “If you can’t finish all your food, you can get a box to take the leftovers home. Even if you feed the cat, it’s not wasted,” said Zhou Zeyong, 19, a sophomore majoring in environmental science.
如果你实在吃不完怎么办？在长春师范大学，食堂还提供打包服务。“如果吃不完，你可以拿饭盒把剩菜带回去。即便拿去喂猫也不会造成浪费。”该校环境科学专业大二学生、19岁的周泽勇（音译）说。
“I’m glad that we’ve reduced waste since attending the campus ‘eat-up’ meeting. But if we call on students to waste less food, we should also improve the service and meal quality in campus canteens. Otherwise you can’t blame students for throwing away inferior food,” said Wang.
“自从我们加入校园‘光盘行动’，浪费现象有所改善，这让我感到很欣慰。但若要号召同学们减少食物浪费，我们还应该改善校园食堂的服务以及饭菜的质量。否则就不能怪学生丢弃劣质食物了。”王广基副校长如是说。