Cafeteria to Compost

Garden School Foundation

(Text from Garden School Foundation's website: https://gardenschoolfoundation.org/programs)

Started in Spring 2018 as a city-funded pilot, and now serving all GSF sites, our Cafeteria to Compost food recovery and food waste diversion program composts food waste to nurture our school garden beds. Every day at the lunch tables, our paid team members help students sort unwanted items from their lunches to either compost or redistribute to other students during lunch and again with families after school. During the 2024-25 school year, we redistributed 23,829 lbs. of edible leftover lunch items with school families and generated 18,000 lbs. of compost on campus, significantly reducing the amount of food waste headed to the landfill. Through the simple daily practice of sharing, sorting, and composting their cafeteria food, children learn firsthand that they can take concrete action to address both food access and climate change. Cafeteria to Compost is supported through a partnership with Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation.