Food Connects Launches Program to Address Food Waste in Schools

Thanks to a two-year $55,550 grant from the Claneil Foundation, Food Connects will increase support to child nutrition professionals, and their school partners, to reduce food waste and increase food access.

In a single year, K–12 schools in the US throw out an estimated $1.2 billion worth of food. This grant is well-timed for the schools Food Connects works with as the July 1st, 2020 Universal Recycling deadline approaches, after which all food scraps are banned from landfills. Food waste leads to big negative effects for school communities: food service dollars wasted, increased trash removal and composting demands on facilities staff, and lost opportunities to address food insecurity for our most vulnerable students. Food Connects will be working closely with food service directors throughout the region to improve food access while also decreasing waste. 

Over the next two years, Food Connects will engage in three key activities with local and regional partners. These activities include:

• piloting promising practices at 10 schools,

• researching and documenting at least 3 best practices, and 

• disseminating best practices to 500 stakeholders throughout New England and beyond.

“We’re looking forward to diving deeper into the issues of food waste and food access,” says Conor Floyd, Food Connects’ Farm to School Program Manager. “Along with our partners, we’re excited to uncover novel solutions and streamline processes to make best practices accessible to every school.”

Want to learn more about this grant and the Food Connects Farm to School program? Email farmtoschool@foodconnects.org or visit their website, www.foodconnects.org/farm-to-school-program.