Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
When we throw away our food, it creates some big problems. First, it takes up lots of space in our landfills – more than plastic, metal, or paper. Second, when that food decomposes it creates a lot of greenhouse gasses. So, what can we do about it?
Will Malloy and Christine Okulo from our Possibly team have more about a program that’s targeting this problem in a place where lots of people eat every day- school cafeterias.
Will Malloy: Hi Megan!
Christine Okulo: Hello!
Megan Hall: So, how do you get school cafeterias to waste less food? I know my kids are always bringing home half-eaten lunches.
Will Malloy: Good question. To find out, we talked to an organization in Rhode Island that’s trying to do just that.
Christine Okulo: The Rhode Island School Recycling Project just received more than seventy thousand dollars from the US Department of Agriculture to keep more cafeteria food out of the landfill.
Will Malloy: Their program focuses on training elementary and middle school students to sort their food into compost, recycling, and trash.
Megan Hall: How does that work?
Christine Okulo: The program identifies student leaders, who get fun titles like “Cafeteria Rangers,” to teach other students where the different types of food waste belong.
Will Malloy: Warren Heyman, the Organizing Director of the Rhode Island School Recycling Project, says these new skills often come in handy outside of school.
Warren Heyman: We’ve heard stories from principals who tell us that some of the Rangers have gone home and then challenged their parents to be more environmentally sound and to stop using paper plates and to start composting.
Christine Okulo: Building these habits early also helps these kids grow up into adults who model less wasteful behavior.
Will Malloy: The program helps schools create stations to collect uneaten food that can be given away instead of thrown out.
Megan Hall: Where does that food go?
Will Malloy: Kendra Gay, one of the facilitators for the program, says it can go to a lot of different places.
Kendra Gay: It might be to students that are identified as needing more food, or backpack programs after or even to pantries.
Christine Okulo: Backpack programs send kids home with food, especially for weekends and school breaks.
Will Malloy: That can make a big difference for kids who don’t have enough to eat at home. And there are a lot of them, nearly 40% of Rhode Island households with children can’t afford enough food to eat.
Megan Hall: Does this program work?
Christine Okulo: Warren says that, so far, the program has had a big impact on the amount of waste schools send to landfills.
Warren Heyman: Before we set up our program, the schools that we’re in were generating about 170 tons of waste. Thanks to our program, they’re producing 22.1 tons. So that’s an 87% reduction.
Will Malloy: But the School Recycling Project hopes to do more than just limit the amount of waste schools throw away, they want to reduce the amount of food those schools order in the first place.
Christine Okulo: Co-Director Jim Corwin says participating schools are seeing that happen, too:
Jim Corwin: With the food waste per student going down, our food service providers tell us that they’ve changed their ordering. So we are pushing back on that supply chain, which is really important.
Megan Hall: Cool. So, can other places learn from what these schools are doing?
Will Malloy: Absolutely. A lot of these food waste strategies can be used in any location that serves food. And some places are already encouraging those types of changes.
Megan Hall: Like where?
Christine Okulo: A lot of states are creating laws that encourage, or even require, composting at large scales.
Will Malloy: Here in Rhode Island, businesses that create a lot of food waste are now legally required to keep that waste out of landfills. Composting is one of the main ways that businesses can take care of that requirement.
Christine Okulo: And any place can give away uneaten but safe-to-eat food.
Will Malloy: There’s even a federal law that protects businesses from getting sued when they donate their food.
Christine Okulo: So, this program in schools has a lot to teach all of us about long-term, effective solutions to cutting food waste.
Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Will and Christine!
That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at askpossibly.org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or Bluesky at “askpossibly”
Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.
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