Nonprofit proposes SHARE food‑recovery pilot for 8 Wake County elementary schools; committee asks staff to finalize MOU and monitor volunteer burden

A Raleigh nonprofit told the Wake County Public Schools Facilities Committee it has designed a pilot program to recover unopened, prepackaged foods from school cafeterias and redistribute them to students, and staff and board members discussed operational, liability and volunteer issues before moving toward a pilot MOU.

Kathleen Liebowitz, executive director of Toward 0 Waste, introduced the SHARE (Stop Hunger and Restore Earth) food‑recovery concept and said the organization has researched other U.S. school models and North Carolina guidance. Toward 0 Waste proposed an eight‑school pilot that would capture non‑time‑temperature‑control‑for‑safety (non‑TCS) items such as individually packaged snacks, sealed juices, bananas and sealed fruit cups, store them in a rolling refrigerator or pantry cart and make them available to students and staff during the week.

Why it matters: Wake County Public Schools and its Child Nutrition Services (CNS) operate a large meal program. The proposed pilot aims both to reduce landfill waste and to provide food to students who may need it; committee members emphasized the need to avoid creating extra work for teachers or CNS operations staff.

Program design and roles

Toward 0 Waste said the pilot design includes four school roles: a SHARE program administrator (primary school contact), one or more share cart supervisors to oversee the collection cart during meal periods, share stockers to move accepted items to the fridge/pantry after meals, and a share cleaner who reviews and cleans inventory at week’s end. Toward 0 Waste proposed supplying carts, a Clearview refrigerator, signage and program documentation for pilot schools and coordinating volunteers for early rollout assistance.

The nonprofit proposed limiting recovered items to non‑TCS foods per North Carolina health interpretations (for example: packaged snacks, sealed juices, bananas and sealed fruit cups). Toward 0 Waste referenced local pilot data from lunch waste audits at Wiley and Olds elementaries that found 20–35 percent of lunch waste was recoverable food in those audits.

Committee questions and staff concerns

Board members and staff focused on liability, volunteer management and the risk that duties might shift to classroom teachers or CNS employees. "I want to make sure that it doesn't fall on a teacher to do it when they have other student duties," Board member Doctor Taylor said; several members urged that volunteers or a designated PTA role perform the routine tasks and that the district include termination or removal language in any school‑level agreement.

Toward 0 Waste said its board has already signed the memorandum of agreement on the nonprofit side and that the draft MOU has been developed with district staff (the nonprofit said it had been working with Sharon Lynn and others). Toward 0 Waste asked the district to sign the MOU so the pilot can proceed; Wake County staff said they would review the MOU's operational and liability language before signature. Staff also said child nutrition staff will not have a formal role in redistributing donated items because the donation occurs after CNS serves the meal.

Data collection and pilot metrics

Toward 0 Waste proposed volunteer‑assisted data collection to measure the number of items recovered, the number consumed by students, and items donated off‑site or disposed of. The nonprofit proposed a staggered rollout of eight pilot schools over approximately 16 instructional days (two school starts per day), with volunteer presence during the initial school rollout days to train staff and collect data.

Funding and partners

Toward 0 Waste said initial pilot funding comes from the Lonnie and Carol Poole Family Foundation and other private donors. The nonprofit listed potential volunteer and partner organizations (League of Women Voters, North Carolina Composting Council, Capital Area Food Network, local PTAs and others) and said it plans to prioritize parent volunteers and partners it has already vetted for initial rollout.

Outcome and next steps

Committee members expressed general support for piloting the program but asked staff to review and finalize the MOU, ensure individual schools can opt out or terminate participation without jeopardizing the entire pilot, and create controls to prevent the program from shifting sustained duties to teachers or CNS staff. Wake County staff said they were comfortable moving forward with a close review of the MOU and monitoring the pilot's operational impacts; the nonprofit said it is ready to present finalized documents for district signature.

Quotes from the meeting

"We are only talking about unopened, prepackaged foods as well as the fruits with non‑edible peels," Toward 0 Waste program lead Megan said when the group described permitted items.

"I want to make sure that it doesn't fall on a teacher to do it when they have other student duties," Doctor Taylor said, urging robust volunteer support and clear role definitions.

Clarifying details

- Proposed pilot: 8 elementary schools, staggered rollout over ~16 instructional days to allow in‑person support at each school's launch. - Recoverable food categories: packaged snacks, condiments/utensils, fresh fruit with nonedible peels (bananas emphasized for elementary grades), sealed cold food (juice boxes, sealed fruit cups, shelf‑stable hummus, sealed sandwiches), per North Carolina health guidance limiting recovery of TCS foods. - Local audit findings: lunch waste audits at Wiley and Olds elementaries found an estimated 20–35% of lunch waste was recoverable food (as reported by Toward 0 Waste). - Funding: initial pilot supported by Lonnie and Carol Poole Family Foundation and private donors.

What the committee requested going forward

- Finalize and circulate the MOU language so district counsel and staff can confirm liability and operational responsibilities. - Include an individual‑school registration or termination mechanism so a single school's inability to continue does not end the entire pilot. - Prioritize parent/PTA volunteers and vetted community partners for early rollout; Toward 0 Waste will coordinate volunteer sign‑ups and initial training materials. - Collect and report pilot metrics (items recovered, items consumed by students, items donated off‑site, volunteer hours) to staff and board for review before any expansion.

Status: Pilot MOU in draft; Toward 0 Waste's board has signed the nonprofit side; Wake County staff will complete final MOU review before district signature and pilot launch.