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Student‑run recycling and food‑share program expands in Cumberland; district schools top state metrics
Summary
Rhode Island Schools Recycling representatives and local school staff updated the committee on cafeteria sorting stations, composting and share‑table programs at Cumberland Hill and Garvin, saying the schools met EPA/USDA targets and reduced food waste substantially.
Representatives from the Rhode Island Schools Recycling Project told the Cumberland School Committee Thursday that student‑run sorting stations and share‑tables at Cumberland Hill and Garvin have sharply reduced cafeteria food waste and provided food to students in need.
Kendra Gay, who presented with Warren Hayman, said the program operates in 48 schools statewide and includes share tables, refrigerated storage for unopened food items, liquid diversion buckets, composting and recycling. Gay said Americans waste 35–40% of food and that schools in Rhode Island generate about 2,500 tons of food waste each year; she said 388 tons of that is “perfectly good food that could be shared with those who are hungry.”
Gay highlighted that Cumberland Hill met an EPA and USDA challenge to decrease food waste per student by 50% by 2030 in roughly six months, with Garvin reaching the target within a year. The presentation said the district’s work equates to an estimated reduction of 16.1 metric tons of carbon dioxide, a figure the presenter likened to eliminating the emissions of driving 41,000 miles in a gasoline car.
Kristin Marshall, a reading specialist and the program’s school champion at Cumberland Hill, described student engagement and project‑based learning that trains “student rangers” to staff sorting stations. Fifth‑grade student Andrew Sarsen told the committee the program made him proud that his school is doing its part to keep the town cleaner.
School leaders said the district received a separate foam‑reduction grant and that remaining funds, combined with local fundraising, may support expansion to an additional school this year. The committee thanked the presenters and invited officials to arrange lunchtime visits for members who wished to see sorting stations in operation.
