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Kilgore Girl Scouts urge Cincinnati school board to cut cafeteria waste, reduce plastic and extend lunch time
Summary
A troop of fifth graders from Kilgore School told the Cincinnati Board of Education they completed a food-waste badge and recommended the district reduce plastic wrapping, restore share tables/collection of unopened food, add compost and recycling bins and lengthen lunch periods.
A troop of Kilgore Elementary fifth graders told the Cincinnati Board of Education on May 19 that food waste and plastic packaging in school cafeterias is harming the environment and offered a set of student-generated recommendations to reduce waste.
Several members of Girl Scout Troop 4161 presented their findings and ideas during the meeting's public-comment period, describing a troop project that earned a food-waste badge. The students said their research and classroom experience found common issues across schools: fruit and other items wrapped in single-use plastic, inconsistent use of reusable trays and utensils, short lunch periods that leave some students with only five to 10 minutes to eat, lack of recycling or compost bins in cafeterias, and the elimination or loss of "share tables" where unopened items could be made available to other students.
Claire, a troop speaker, urged the district to stop routinely packaging apples and pears in plastic and to return to reusable trays rather than Styrofoam. Several speakers recommended the district reinstate or expand share tables and collection of unopened milk and prepackaged items for distribution to other students. Students asked the district to provide composting bins for food scraps and to add recycling bins in cafeterias and gym spaces.
"We only have 15 to devour our lunch," one student told the board, urging that lunch periods be lengthened or that service be made faster so students have time to finish meals instead of throwing food away. Another student suggested that staff reintroduce cafeteria collection of unopened food items for redistribution, saying the school used to do that and it reduced wasted food.
Board members thanked the students for their presentations and invited them to work with staff on implementation ideas. President Moffitt praised the troop and asked staff to follow up on operational possibilities.
No board action was taken at the meeting; students said they hoped the district would review cafeteria procedures, packaging choices and lunch scheduling in response to their suggestions.
