Schools Reduce Food Waste , Improve Menus through “ No Thank You ” Box March 13 , 2015
Schools Reduce Food Waste , Improve Menus through “ No Thank You ” Box March 13 , 2015
Acting within the framework of federal and state regulations , Des Moines Public Schools are reducing food waste and improving their menus by placing “ No Thank You ” boxes in ten elementary and middle school cafeterias . The district ’ s goal is primarily to avoid food waste by serving healthy food that students choose to eat and secondarily to redirect unwanted , healthful food to help students who need it .
The No Thank You boxes are placed near the cafeteria doors next to the garbage cans and give students the option of returning uneaten food items such as apples , bananas , and unopened cereal bowls . The returned food is inspected for integrity , washed , and given to the school nurse , who distributes it to students who are hungry or need to take food with their medicine . In partnership with the Food Bank of Iowa , the district is including some of the rescued food in its Backpack Buddies program .
In addition to rescuing unwanted but wholesome food , a primary objective of the No Thank You Box program is to improve the school menu by discovering and replacing the food items that are most often returned . Administration already knows from production figures how many of each food item is taken , but production figures alone do not show how many of the items taken are actually consumed . The No Thank You Box helps bridge this gap by indicating how many items are taken but not eaten .
A common concern with school food rescue programs is that students will decide not to eat food that they would otherwise consume so that they can share it with others . The Des Moines Public Schools addressed this concern in two ways :
1 . They do not advertise to their students what happens with the rescued food . Students know that the food doesn ’ t go into the garbage , but they are not told that it goes to the school nurse for distribution to kids who might be hungry .
2 . The name “ No Thank You Box ” was deliberately chosen instead of a “ Sharing Table ” name , in order to downplay the generosity aspects of the program .
Additional suggestions include : � �
Because the primary goal is to improve the menu so that less food needs to be rescued , it is important not to evaluate school food rescue programs solely based on the amount of food rescued . Partnerships and collaboration are essential for this type of work . Outside partners include the Food Bank of Iowa and the FoodCorps VISTA program . Internal partners include school administration , food service personnel , nurses and teachers .
For more information about the Des Moines Public Schools food rescue program , please contact Ms . Amanda Miller at amanda . miller @ dmschools . org or 515-242-8308 .
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