Thanks to an Earth Force project initiated in a previous year, Friends’ Central has a top notch recycling program. So what were the students who wanted to tackle waste management issues to do? Food to Go students were aware that more than just recycling could be done. They were determined to start a compost program, inspired by the many bags of compostable food scraps they saw dumped each day after lunch. Before the students could begin, they needed to conduct an environmental inventory. They created a survey to find out how students felt about having a school compost bin. It became clear that not many students knew about composting, so Food to Go hosted an educational assembly to explain how composting works.
Once students understood more about it, Food to Go finished their research and received a green light from the faculty to create the composting bin. Next, they presented their plan to the school and cafeteria staff who were quite enthusiastic about the project. In the presentation, Food to Go students leveraged the fact that since students are in charge of cleaning the cafeteria after lunch, they could do the composting. . . which meant less work for staff.
Food to Go launched the project in late spring and had a successful composting program during the last few weeks of school. They are looking forward to seeing the program continue next year!