Finished with breakfast at school but have a whole carton of orange juice or a granola bar? Don’t throw away your uneaten food just yet! Instead, donate your food to one of the Food Recovery bins in the cafeteria and support GSMST EcoAmbassadors!
Started by GSMST seniors Elly Ren, Kevin Chen and Charles Deng, the program aims to reduce food waste at school. According to the USDA, food waste composes the largest part of waste in landfills. This can be deadly, as the food waste contributes to the methane release from landfills. The seniors wanted to take part in the “Food Recovery Challenge,” a program started by the Environmental Protection Agency to encourage schools to lower food wastage rates.
As part of a year-long project, the seniors created boxes to place around the school in which students can donate dry packaged goods and uneaten fruits. Every Monday, Elly drives to the Lilburn Co-op and Lawrenceville Co-op to donate these perishable food donations.
These seniors were extremely excited for this project. As part of ECOS and being environmental enthusiasts, they strive to do their part in helping the world and making it a better place to live for future generations.
Overall, the experience has been successful! As I walk around the cafeteria, I’m truly pleased to see students placing uneaten bags of apples or packaged granola bars into the boxes. It’s amazing to see what a group of motivated teenagers can do to help the environment!
