From Trash to Table
Unused food at local schools does not need to wind up in the dumpster after all!
Recently two lunch ladies in Odessa, Texas lost their jobs when it was discovered that they were taking leftover fruit home to feed their families that was instead by law supposed to be thrown away.
We contacted Jean Dean the School Nutrition Supervisor with the West Ada School District and she confirmed that the same USDA rule about throwing away excess food is also a requirement here in Idaho.
Or is it?
I am passionate about stretching every dollar and it bothers me to see waste of any kind. So, I did some research on the USDA's website and discovered they are actually encouraging schools to donate leftovers to local food pantries! Maybe some schools here could take the Food Waste Challenge and instead of filling our landfills with healthy usable food we could fill some pantries and refrigerators instead.
Here are some links with all the details:
To register your school as a participant in the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, simply complete and submit the K-12 form.
Check out this list of the 4000+ schools and businesses currently participating in the Food Waste Challenge.