Collaboration with Cafeteria, Teachers, Students & Staff Removes 2.5 Tons of Food From Landfills
A unique collaboration between San Diego Unified Food & Nutrition Services, classroom teachers, students, and custodial staff has resulted in an award-winning food waste reduction campaign at Patrick Henry High School. The school is being awarded the Recycling Challenge Award from San Diego Unified for its innovative “Cafe to Compost” process. Over the past three years, the effort has diverted more than 5,000 pounds of food from landfills.
“Patrick Henry has consistently been the top award winner in the high school category of the annual Recycling Challenge,” says Janet Whited, Recycling Specialist for San Diego Unified School District. “Through their recycling and waste diversion efforts, including the Cafe to Compost program and others, they continue to demonstrate their commitment to the environment and sustainability education.”
The process started with Lara Dickens, an AP Environmental Science teacher, and AP Government teacher Matthew Pruden, who wanted to leverage their combined commitment to sustainability with practical, hands-on learning with their classes. The concept was to create composting and vermiculture (worm farming) stations at the school, with much of the fuel for the projects coming from unused food from the school’s cafe.
The two approached cafeteria manager Marcy Sanders, asking if they would be able to collect unused green foods (fruits and vegetables) that are not able to be rescued by hunger relief organizations, and use them to fuel their project. Sanders and her team of six were on board, and after working through the logistics, the project was underway.
Not to go unnoticed was the cooperation of the school’s lead custodian, Cathy Murphy, who worked with Dickens and Pruden on where to place the worm bins and compost so as not to attract unwanted wildlife.
Making The Most of Food
 |
For Sanders, having a vehicle and a purpose for unused food was a dream come true. “I hate throwing things away, and it’s great knowing that the food we can’t use is being taken care of properly. It’s so much better than throwing it away."
Every day after lunch is served, Sanders and her team separate out the fruits and vegetables that are left over and cannot be re-served and package them up. The team leaves the food in a refrigerator, and Pruden collects it the next day to take to the compost bin.
The Food & Nutrition Services team (known as Sandi Coast Cafe) works with the district’s recycling team on initiatives like this, as well as diverting unserved but still fresh packaged meals to organizations like local food banks to address the need to reduce food insecurity.
|
Connections to the Classroom
For Dickens, the project presented her environmental science students with a first-hand look at the process of converting unused items like newspapers and discarded produce into healthy food for plants. For Pruden’s government students, it has been a perfect object lesson to teach about unfunded mandates and how these laws can be fulfilled.
Explains Dickens, “[California law] SB 1383 requires that in the state of California, businesses [and organizations] are supposed to be doing [diverting] green waste. So he [Pruden] brought it in and incorporated it as part of teaching that we, as an organization, are legally responsible for doing these things.
 |
“It’s also,” says Dickens, “a solution to the question of, ‘how do you do some hands-on outdoorsy things in your government class?’ And so this was the big hook - let's talk about the law and let's get outdoors; They love to do it and they're obeying the law.
Students observe what it takes to create a worm bin for the vermiculture aspect, as well as the process of composting, with several volunteering to perform extra work such as spinning the compost, maintaining worm bins, and even caring for the worms at home over breaks.
|
The compost and worm castings are used to fertilize plants across the Patrick Henry campus, creating vibrant plant life. Says Cole, a junior at Patrick Henry, “Being in a photography class, I walk around a lot, and I try and find settings and colors and interesting things to take pictures of. You walk around and you see these beautiful plants and flowers, and you're like, ‘wow!’
The compost and worm castings are used to fertilize plants across the Patrick Henry campus, creating vibrant plant life. Says Cole, a junior at Patrick Henry, “Being in a photography class, I walk around a lot, and I try and find settings and colors and interesting things to take pictures of. You walk around and you see these beautiful plants and flowers, and you're like, ‘wow!’
“It gives you a sense of pride in your school and a bit of inspiration to [learn] something I never knew I'd be interested in. It gives me inspiration to learn more about nature and learn more about the environment. I mean, just look at the plants!”
This project is an example of how Food & Nutrition Services can be a partner in education—not just by fueling students with healthy meals, but by actively connecting them to real-world learning,” says Alicia Pitrone Hauser, Director of Food and Nutrition Services.
Meaningful Work for Students
Caring for the environment is a top priority for many students, and this program provides an outlet to make a tangible difference on campus.
|
Nayah, a senior and the President of the school’s Environmental Club, explains the impact. “This is important to me because I've always been interested in helping the environment in any way I can. And food waste is a really big issue, especially because once it goes to landfills, it's a really big producer of greenhouse gases.
Roxi, also a senior, became involved in the work through Nayah’s invitation and the promise of working with animals - in this case, worms. And far from being overwhelming, the process was an easy fit for Roxi. “I would come 45 minutes before school started every day, so it really wasn't that much effort. I would stir things and feed the worms, and it was just like, ‘Yay, worms!’
|
Lexi, a junior who became involved via Dickens’ class, talks about the inspiration gained. “I’ve learned a lot about the environment and how powerful a single plant can be. I'm more conscious about what I do for the environment, and even if it's just recycling something instead of throwing it away, that makes such a big difference. It's so important to learn this stuff when you're young, and because my generation is the next generation, we're kind of running out of time to save the environment.”
Making Sustainability Attainable
Another benefit for everyone involved has been seeing that tackling a seemingly massive topic like food waste can be done on a local level, and realizing how the efforts add up to create impact. The efforts have, since the start of the 2022-23 school year, diverted 5,087 pounds of food from landfills.
That 2.5-ton total has come in small increments of food and time, and participants see the results add up. Pruden estimates that he spends 6-7 minutes per day collecting the food from the cafe and adding it to the compost bins. Those minutes have added up to more than 14 hours this school year - a big number achieved through small, consistent effort.
 |
Hayden, a senior who plans on studying environmental engineering at college, “[This opportunity has] raised my awareness significantly. I would never have known a thing about hot compost till this year, and hadn't seen or used a worm bin before. I mean, you saw those plants that are thriving, right? So it was pretty interesting to learn all this stuff, and it's super applicable. If you have a little garden or any sort of thing like that, then it's definitely manageable.”
When asked about the extra effort that Sanders and her team contribute to the project, she is quick to tout the ease of the process. “We just do it. It's not that much extra work; anything that is left over, we gather it and put it in the fridge.” As for other cafe managers interested in starting a similar project, Sanders says, “Talk to me. I'll tell them. It's easy. It's so much better.”
|