Comments on: Mandated Waste: Simple Questions about School Lunch Reform

By: christie

christie — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:09:07 +0000

I just recently learned of the students being required to throw away unopened food items such as milk from the school cafeterias. I would like to do a little more research on this if someone could tell me who exactly came up with this requirement.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:11:35 +0000

What a fabulous story, Megan! Thank you so much for sharing! Would make sense to replicate this.

By: Megan

Megan — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 05:09:35 +0000

At our school, in Long Beach, Ca, we worked with the head of food services of our district. We were able to collect the unopened drinks, yogurt, fruit cups and fresh fruit at lunch time. We collect it an ice chest and donate it to a local food pantry. We had to take a food handling training and it has to be delivered to the refrigerator of the food pantry within 4 hours. Persistence and compromise made it work out in the end. We talk up to 50lbs per day.

By: Organic and Green Mom Blog | Green Moms & Public Schools: Top 10 Green School Projects – Pick One! at Organic Mania

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:49:15 +0000

[...] Why Throw Out Unopened Milk? Forced Dumping of Unopened School Milk Bottles in the Garbage [...]

By: Lynn

Lynn — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:54:42 +0000

Laura, I’m curious to know if you’re in MoCo like me…and what excuse the school system is giving. I was told that we can’t give away food because of “health reasons.” Does it take a TV show like Jamie Oliver’s to wake people up? I think so, unfortunately. It seems like common sense has gone out the window. I’ll email you soon…I’d like to continue the discussion…maybe there’s something we could do together. Hang in there!

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 21 May 2010 05:51:24 +0000

This battle with waste is killing me! I work at an elementary school. This year they started the recycling barrels. Awesome! I thought. Then I observed the kids being instructed to open their milk and pour it out if they didn’t want it .. then of course put the bottle in the recycle bin! What kind of double standard is that?! Then I watched unopened cereal, yogurt, cheesesticks, bananas, apples,kiwi’s, etc. being trashed and UNOPENED! I began instructing the kids to put it on the ends of the tables if they didn’t want it. One day I brought a new 30 gallon trash fillled, to the brim with milk, cereal and yogurt; that the kids has put on the “share table”, to a local homeless shelter! That was only breakfast! Well now I’m being told that we can’t do that anymore. We have to tell the kids to throw it away. I said “no. You want it thrown away, you’ll have to do it.” They won’t. Their just paying the custodians to do it. One of my students said ” Are their no more poor people?” I said ” what do you mean?” He said” Well, the janitor guy is throwing away the share table food. And at Christmas we all brought stuff like mac-a-cheese. But now he’s throwing away stuff. Does that mean there no more poor people?” It takes a 5 yr. old to clearly see the double standard we are setting for our children. How do we expect them to trust us on the big issues in their life when they can’t trust us to tell the truth about what is waste and what is not?
I don’t know what to do at this point. But tax payer money is being sent to landfills, and people are still hungry in local communities.. and now I feel like my hands have been tied.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:43:04 +0000

I hope schools will start to think more about the health of our planet and the kids!

All these articles are kind of shocking to me because I was homeschooled 4th grade and on and when I was in public school I always packed a lunch.
Lisa´s last blog ..Decorate For Fall: Eco Style

By: mcmilker

mcmilker — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:05:05 +0000

Chef Ann sounds awesome. I’d love to hear her speak.

I fear, the fear over swine flu is just going to make things worse as parents/schools will want every food item individually packaged and hermetically sealed in 3 layers.

By: Diane MacEachern

Diane MacEachern — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:00:09 +0000

I’m inspired by the kids at my local middle school (Takoma Park Middle). They’re fed up with all the throwaway plates and trays they get at lunch, so they’re raising money to buy durable trays and place settings. There are over 1,000 kids at the school; they’ll set a great example when they succeed, which I’m sure they will!
Diane MacEachern´s last blog ..Tampons- The Planet’s Most Extreme Case of PMS

By: Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish

Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:35:35 +0000

This stuff never ceases to amaze me. Why do they pour out the milk? What is the reason?
Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish´s last blog ..Year 3, Month 3 Results: 8.6 oz of plastic waste