Comments on: Breaking News: Donating Wasted School Food

By: April Vince

April Vince — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:07:10 +0000

Hello all. It makes me so pleased to find I am not alone in this journey! I am currently trying to start a program at my daughter’s elementary school to give the unused food to charity. I was recently asked to draft a document that the charity can sign off on allowing the school to give them the food with no liability to the school/reprecussions. Does anyone have acces to this type of document or have a recommendation where I caould research the legal aspects I need to cover? I appreciate any information.
Thanks!

By: Bettina Elias Siegel

Bettina Elias Siegel — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:21:38 +0000

Trish – It’s SO hard to see so much food waste. I know some schools do collect unopened packaged foods and uneaten whole fruit and informally get that food to kids who need it.

By: trish k

trish k — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:29:15 +0000

I have just been able to become more involved with the school my children attend, and this topic is heavy on my heart. There is so much need within our school alone, and feel that using it during snack time would be a huge benefit! I that I feel this topic needs to be discussed. Thank you for this comment!

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:50:00 +0000

Hi Betina,

Thank you for your reply. I’ll keep following your blog. There has to be a solution to this. Today, it was bananas going into the garbage. I’m going to have to stop sitting in front of the garbage cans in the morning.

Warmest regards,
Cynthia

By: bettina elias siegel

bettina elias siegel — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 01:33:54 +0000

Cynthia – as it turns out, there may be a legal impediment to donation that I learned of after writing this post, and it may also apply to putting a bowl out at lunch . I’m waiting to speak to a contact at HISD and will post here about it asap. But in the meantime, re: sliced fruit — HISD is getting a huge, industrial fruit slicer through a grant program, but as of now the thought is that it will only be used for oranges. Food Services claims that sliced apples can’t be prevented from turning brown, although it’s not clear to me why the slices can’t be soaked briefly in lemon water (or water with citric acid) before transport. When I post again about donation, I’ll email you directly with the link, but for now I’m so glad you found The Lunch Tray, and thank you for commenting! – Bettina

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 01:22:34 +0000

I am so grateful that I ran into this website. My kids are in HISD also and this morning the school served a breakfast of apples, small yogurt cups, blueberry muffins and milk.

I was sick to my stomach to see how many of those items in “unopened” condition were thrown into the garbage. I took 4 apples home (2 from my kids and 2 apples that were just sitting on the table we sat at).

My kids and I want to start something at our school to rescue this food. What about the perishable food such as fruit? I thought if food banks can’t accept it, then why not have the cafeteria line put it into large bowls so that a kid can take an apple if they want one.

Other thought: my youngest is going through the phase of losing teeth so her gums are tender. Even at home, she will not bite into a whole apple or large slices of apple but she will eat thinly sliced apples.

I bet that the cafeteria service could make do with fewer food options that are served in a more appetizing way: thinly slicing apples for kindergardners and 1st graders with missing teeth.

We had the same thought: why can’t they save the perishables for “snack” time in the classrooms? The food is already paid for. There are kids in my children’s classrooms that come to school with lunch boxes full of candy and no sandwich, no fruit. I kid you not, I’ve seen it with my own eyeballs.

If they put the fruit out during the lunches like a produce display at the grocery store the kids could choose for themselves. Better yet, if they convinced the cafeteria to stop offering those refined carbohydrate baked things they offer for breakfast and lunch, they hungry kids will hopefully gravitate towards the food.

It’s like the rule we have in my home: if you’re hungry, there’s a basket of fruit in the fridge. If you don’t want to eat fruit (because you want candy or cookies) then you’re not hungry enough!

I would love to collaborate with you guys on this. We’re approaching a season when the need for food is so much greater because of its symbolic meaning of abundance.

Quick note: I haven’t researched this but wouldn’t the school district be able to take a tax write off on donated food since they paid for it?

Cynthia
MKandME@gmail.com

By: bettina elias siegel

bettina elias siegel — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:39:11 +0000

Mary: I think it’s “Backpack Buddies.” And your info is so helpful – I’m going to mention it to HISD when we next talk about donation. – Bettina

By: Sameera Kapasi Mahendru

Sameera Kapasi Mahendru — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:21:20 +0000

Great topic! Thanks for looking into it.

By: mary t.

mary t. — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:45:32 +0000

It is labor intensive (but fun once you get the hang of it), and the Food Bank can use all the volunteers they can get. They not only help stock the local food banks that actually distribute food, they also have a program for children who rely on school breakfast and lunch during the week to ensure they get some food for the weekend–teachers can slip “care packages” into the backpacks of needy students on Fridays. I can’t remember what the program is called, though.

By: bettina elias siegel

bettina elias siegel — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:06:49 +0000

Mary: I had no idea they were already doing that. (In fact, when HISD told us that the issue was germs, I was going to raise my hand and suggest that sort of cleaning, but it seemed too labor intensive so I kept quiet). All the more reason why we need to get a donation program going. Many thanks for the comment. – Bettina