The Top 10 Takeaways from the Student Food Recovery Task Force Panel
The Student Food Recovery Task Force is a growing group of young leaders who are changing the status quo on food waste, and nourishing their neighbors. Across NYC and the surrounding area, students are recovering surplus food and finding ways to share it with community members who need it.
For the final meeting of the 2023-2024 school year, the Task Force hosted a panel of 14 student activists to discuss what they’re doing and what they’ve learned.
Alexis, Eleanor, Eva, Gabriella, Grace, Harrison, Joie, Maya, Rachel, Ryan, Sophia, Skai, Sienna, and Will come from a variety of schools, and are at different stages in their food recovery efforts. But what unites them is a passion for making a difference, a determination to do the right thing, and the creativity and joy they bring to the work.
Looking to start your own food recovery project or club? Here are their top tips:
#1. Be persistent.
Some school administrators are immediately on board with food recovery, but others aren’t sure at first.
The panelists advised staying the course, and continuing to (respectfully) push for your project. Don’t let the first “no” discourage you, instead, ask questions and try to resolve concerns.
You may need to start smaller than a full cafeteria food rescue project. Consider making sandwiches for a community fridge or hosting a drive for non-perishables to share.
While she’s in the process of getting approval for a share table, Alexis hosted a sandwich-making event with her school’s sustainability club, and made more than 200 sandwiches!
#2. Partnering with cafeteria staff is crucial.
Over and over, the panelists emphasized one key to success: get connected with your school’s cafeteria staff. They understand the food waste problem and some of the options or limitations you may have addressing it.
Sophia recommended going straight to the chef, and getting them onboard. You may want to start as simply as asking questions like, “What happens to our school’s leftover food?” or “What is the plan for our excess food at the end of the school year?”
#3. Once you start seeing food waste, you won’t stop.
Eleanor remarked, and panelists agreed, that once you are aware of food waste, you’ll start seeing it everywhere.
Schools are only one place to reduce food waste. Students talked about starting food recovery efforts elsewhere, like at summer restaurant jobs or camp.
#4. Learn from others.
Several of the panelists benefited from advice and guidance from…other panelists! Maya is helping Gabriella get her food recovery project started. Sophia and Eleanor coached Eva on how to start her middle school program.
The Student Food Recovery Task Force community is supportive and ready to help. Through our WhatsApp thread, conversations, and meetings, students can benefit from the experiences of those who’ve gone before them.
#5. Think outside the box.
Our panelists aren’t afraid to get creative.
Eleanor shared how her food recovery club has tried to be sustainable, both financially and environmentally. Concerned about the amount of plastic they were using to pack food, the team is about to launch their first take-out container recycling drive!
Grace shared how her robotics team needed a community service project, so they took on the existing food recovery effort at their school and revitalized it. They volunteer weekly, and host other clubs and teams who want to get involved.
#6. Bring your friends.
Every club needs members, especially when you rely on volunteers to recover, pack, and transport food. Joie advised us to start with the people you know, rather than trying to recruit your whole school. You don’t need a ton of volunteers to get started, just some like-minded people. Friends will bring friends, and momentum will grow.
#7. Start with a share table.
All New York City public schools can opt-in to having a “share table” for students to take or leave unwanted, unopened food. This includes fruit and packaged snacks. For many schools, this is a natural starting point for food recovery.
Some of our panelists have taken their share tables further. The exemplary food recovery club at Stuyvesant High began when Skai noticed that share table food wasn’t being used, and ended up discarded.
After talking with cafeteria staff, they set up a new plan where unused share table food is now saved, and delivered by club members to a community fridge at the end of the week.
#8. Do your homework.
Before you start your food recovery project, check out the Task Force resources (LINK), which will give you important information about laws, liability, and how to approach your school.
Sienna used info from the resources page in a presentation to pitch her food recovery idea. She found that being able to name other schools with successful programs was instrumental in inspiring her school’s administration.
Gabriella used the Task Force resources to educate her school about share tables. If you go into your conversations prepared, you’ll get farther faster.
#9. This work matters.
Doing food recovery work is important and makes a difference for everyone involved–the people who receive the food and the people who rescue it.
Maya remarked that food recovery is an area where, “I, as a teen, can actually make a difference.”
Harrison and Rachel of Brooklyn Tech both talked about the ways in which the work is meaningful to them. Harrison explained that their “Fridge Fridays” club has become a bonding experience for the students who participate. Rachel recalled how it felt to see people at the community fridge where they deliver food who were able to have a healthy meal, because of their delivery.
#10. Your impact might be even bigger than you think.
Every effort to keep good, healthy food out of the trash and in the community is significant. Some students have found their efforts had a much bigger impact than they’d planned. Will, Skai, and Ryan of Stuyvesant inspired policy changes at the New York City Department of Education! (Check out their appearance on CBS TV News.)
Maya founded Fresh Opportunities, an entire organization to spread the word and help students start their own food recovery efforts. She has received a grant to help other student food recovery clubs get the packaging they need.
The Student Food Recovery Task Force is Here for You!
To start recovering wasted food, you don’t have to be:
An expert
An adult
Some kind of hero
You just need to:
Care
Have access to surplus food
Want to make a difference
Get organized
While the students of our panel are rock stars, role models, and absolutely inspiring, their message was loud and clear: You can do this. We’ll help you.
To join the movement and stay in the loop, register for our next meeting in September.
See you there!