Commenter urges school district to set up edible food recovery after student asks about leftovers

An unnamed commenter said a student asked what happens to food left on a school "food share" table and that she told the child, "because her school district doesn't have an edible food recovery program in place, it all goes to the trash." The commenter urged the district to consider partnering with local food banks to recover edible leftovers.

The speaker described the context of the remark: "One of the things that we do in our service is we collaborate with a local school district and help students sort their organic waste. So we'll show them what goes in the green bin, what goes in the gray bin, and what could be shared with other students on a separate table for them to come and pick up later." She said a child asked what happens to the food on the food-share table and that, because there is no edible food recovery program in the district, it currently goes to the trash.

Recalling the exchange, the commenter said she initially felt she "could have done more" to educate the child but later approached the student again and learned the child's mother "works at a food bank, and they're always doing donations." The commenter said she suggested the mother contact the school district to discuss a possible donation arrangement: "If your mom is interested, what she can do is she can contact the school district, tell them about the organization she works with, and maybe they could set something up for later down the line." She described the encounter as an example of educating a future generation and creating "that trickle down effect."

The remarks constituted a suggestion and anecdote from a meeting speaker; the transcript does not record any formal motion, directive to staff, or response from the school district. Whether the district has pursued an edible food recovery arrangement after this recommendation was not stated in the meeting.