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Board workshops food-waste prevention campaign ideas; education, measurement and school outreach prioritized
Summary
At a Feb. 20, 2025 workshop session, the Environmental Sustainability Board and ICLEI discussed a possible county food-waste prevention campaign. Members recommended focusing on household food prevention, measurement tools, school-based education and partnerships with grocery stores and local programs as immediate priorities.
Board members and the ICLEI presenter used part of the Feb. 20 workshop to brainstorm a food-waste prevention campaign, identifying prevention (not just composting) as the highest-impact priority. Participants emphasized that most lifecycle environmental impacts occur during food production, so preventing waste at home has greater environmental benefit than disposal alone.
Ideas discussed included: household education about meal planning and storage, school programs and cafeteria audits to teach children about waste, distribution of practical tools such as grocery lists or refrigerator-storage guides, and measurement pilots (food diaries, household scales or bin-weighing trials) to raise awareness. Board members suggested partnering with local grocery retailers, schools and civic groups to reach parents and teens; several members recommended youth and school-based initiatives as a route to reach adult behavior via children.
Participants discussed the relationship between food-waste prevention and an eventual community composting program: prevention work would both reduce waste and help build public support for composting when rollout timing is determined. Staff said the timeline for launching a composting program remains unknown; food-waste prevention work could proceed immediately as outreach and education.
Board members also proposed hands-on outreach approaches for spring events (Earth Day, farmers markets): demonstrations on food preservation, “harvest-pick” signage for backyard and public fruit-sharing, and a challenge-style activity to engage families and measure commitment.
No formal policy or funding decisions were made. Staff and volunteers said they would continue planning and bring a more concrete outreach plan to future meetings.
