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7/11/2019 |
Member News |
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Sodexo Wins Award for Fighting Food Waste at Fremont Schools |
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Edible food going to waste is an issue that has gained significant traction nationally and internationally, with over 40% of all food produced believed to never reach a plate. The Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) is taking steps to counter the trend, thanks to the initiative of their food service provider Sodexo. The effort has won Sodexo a Business Efficiency Award for Excellence in Food Waste Reduction from Alameda County public agency StopWaste.
Under the leadership of FUSD Child Nutrition Services Manager Karl Go-Reynoso, all 39 K-12 schools in the District have set up “food share carts” that have proven an effective way to keep surplus school cafeteria food from going to waste. The concept is simple: Students place unwanted, unopened and unbitten foods on the food share cart for other students to take or to be donated to food rescue organizations. The approach is promoted by StopWaste as part of the agency’s Smart Cafeteria Initiative, but FUSD is the first to roll out food share district-wide.
Go-Reynoso found critical support in the students from the Science & Eco-Club at American High School and their teacher and advisor Julio Navarrete. With guidance and funding for supplies from StopWaste, the team assembled 39 food share carts and distributed one to each school, along with active engagement of lunch room staff in charge of overseeing the food share carts. Navarrete and his students also supported Go-Reynoso in establishing a partnership between American High and TriCity Volunteers, a non-profit food rescue organization that accepts surplus food for their bagged lunch program. Over the course of the last school year, TriCity volunteers received over 2,000 pounds of surplus edible food from American High. In the coming years, Sodexo wants to help get similar food donation systems in place at all FUSD schools. Sodexo is working to get similar food donation systems in place at all FUSD schools. Their recent partnership with non-profit Daily Bowl in Union City brings them one step closer to that goal.
For more information about the StopWaste Business Efficiency Awards visit www.StopWaste.org/business-awards.
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