Silver-where?: Why are UMich students stealing dishes from campus dining halls?

In 2011, The Michigan Daily reported the University of Michigan spent about $40,000 annually replacing dinnerware stolen from campus dining halls. Now, more than a decade later, has anything changed?  

Susan Cramer, senior associate director of MDining, told The Daily in an email that the University now spends about $60,000 more annually than they did in 2011 to replace dinnerware. “Annually, MDining will spend close to $100,000 to replenish lost dinnerware and flatware, though our manufacturer replaces any broken or chipped dishware through a warranty program,” Cramer wrote. “Notably, MDining operational costs do not influence annual tuition rates, since tuition revenue pays for the core academic mission of the University (instruction, financial aid, academic advising, etc.).”

According to Cramer, thousands of items go missing from U-M dining halls each year. Not all of those are intentionally stolen, however. Cramer told The Daily she believes some dishes are accidentally thrown out and others are taken by students who do not know that all dinnerware and utensils should remain in the dining halls. 

“Over the course of an average academic year, MDining replaces (approximately) 22,000 pieces of flatware and dinnerware, which includes a combined 11,000 forks, knives and spoons; 4,000 plates; 5,000 bowls and 2,000 cups,” Cramer wrote. “Students may accidentally place dinnerware and/or flatware in compost bins along with their compostable items or may be unaware that dinnerware and flatware should remain in the halls.”

While it is difficult to pinpoint exactly why students take reusable dinnerware from campus dining halls, LSA sophomore Flynn Lyon theorized that many students may have simply forgotten to pack utensils and plasticware with them when they moved into their residence hall.

“I think the main thing is convenience,” Lyon said. “A lot of people when they first move in, their thoughts are ‘I need to get a lamp, I need to get bedsheets and to get all these big things for my dorm.’ And I think a lot of people don’t really think about dinnerware or smaller things like that.”

Lyon recounted a story from his freshman year when he frequented the Mosher-Jordan dining hall. Lyon said one day, there were no forks in the dining hall which made eating his meal a challenge. So the next day, when the forks had been replenished, he decided to take a few with him to ensure he always had a fork when going to eat. Lyon said stealing forks became somewhat of a game until he had accumulated over 200 of them in his dorm room. 

“It snowballed into this bit: ‘How many forks can I steal from the dining hall?’ ” Lyon said. “I think it got up to around 250 to 260, somewhere around there, before I eventually ended up getting in trouble and met with my hall director. I gave them back obviously.”

No matter the reasoning behind the missing items, LSA junior Ava Dobos, dining hall student manager, told The Daily the theft tangibly affects both dining hall workers and people who eat there. Dobos said the lack of silverware and dishes increases wait times in the dining halls. 

“With the amount of people we serve in a night, we can get really low on silverware very quickly,” Dobos said. “We get low on dishes for certain places and that creates a wait time for people. But I don’t know if I credit that just to stealing; stuff gets broken.”

To temporarily address shortages due to lost and broken dinnerware, U-M dining halls have occasionally had to rely on compostable alternatives, which were also used at all campus dining halls during the pandemic. Cramer noted that using disposable dinnerware may inadvertently make students more likely to take reusable dishes out of the dining hall if they become used to taking their meals to-go. 

“MDining often observes an increase in lost items when reintroducing permanent dinnerware and flatware after prolonged compostables usage, which may occur during periods of staffing shortages and equipment downtime,” Cramer wrote. “This increase in lost dinnerware and flatware may be due to students becoming more accustomed to taking compostable pieces with them outside dining spaces.”

Dobos said she often finds dinnerware thievery is blatantly obvious, though she and her fellow staff cannot do much to stop it. 

“If we’re up at the host end, it’s really easy to see when people are walking out with stuff,” Dobos said. “If we see it before they leave the dining hall, we can say, ‘Hey take that to the dish room,’ or something along those lines, but once they’re out, we can’t chase them down.”

To gently encourage students to return stolen dishes and silverware, Cramer wrote that U-M dining halls and residence halls place dish collection bins throughout the residence halls, especially towards the end of the term. That way students can return their dishes — no questions asked.

“M-Dining works closely with Michigan Housing to place ‘amnesty’ boxes throughout residential halls, where students can return dinnerware and/or flatware without fear of punishment,” Cramer wrote. “Dirty dishes may also invite pests and roommate arguments if not promptly removed or cleaned.”

Daily Staff Reporter Miles Anderson can be reached at milesand@umich.edu.