When it comes to cafeteria food at your local school, it probably comes in the form of a hot breakfast or a hot lunch. Students have been enjoying (or not enjoying) those meals for quite some time. The problem is, it provides food for the students when they are in school but when they go home, they may not be so fortunate. That is where Elkhart community schools in Indiana decided to step up to the plate and do something about it.
One of the issues that always comes about when students receive food is the fact that there is more prepared than what they would eat. Did you ever wonder what they did with the extra food? Most just throw it away without giving it much thought but when you consider the fact that many students didn’t have anything to eat on the weekends at home, that food being thrown away took a whole new meaning. There is no reason for their students to go hungry when so much food is wasted.
Elkhart school conducted an experiment. A nonprofit named Cultivate was a member of the team for the experiment. They take the extra food from restaurants, catering companies and similar places and turn it into frozen meals.
Jim Conklin from Cultivate said, “Mostly, we rescue food that’s been made but never served.”
The nonprofit from South Bend is working with the Woodland elementary school for the program to see how it works out. Any leftover food from the cafeteria is used to create frozen meals so the students can take them home on the weekends. They will have plenty to eat when they are not at school and the food isn’t going to waste.
The program is new but it is making an impact already. It is hoped that it will find its way into other area schools and perhaps even be an inspiration nationwide.
You can learn more about the program in this video: