Saturday, May 5, 2018

Foodware - Trays Presentation

Please forward to Green Schools reps and PTA Council...

1) Ad Council/NRDC strawberry video:  A short PSA on food waste for students of all ages (and their parents) to learn about the impact of food waste and to practice sustainability in our community.  Please share and include in your newsletters, along with this blurb, which can be customized for your school: 

"An estimated 40% of all food produced in the U.S. is wasted, which has major environmental and economic implications.  The average American family of four spends over $1,500 per year on food that they don’t eat and discards 1000 lbs of food at home.  Wasting food wastes water, labor, fuel and money!  Through simple lifestyle changes, like making shopping lists, freezing food and using leftovers, and strategies in the school cafeteria, like composting and collection of leftover food, we can fight food waste. Watch this video clip - the Extreme Life and Times of Strawberry - and other PSAs with your child today to start a conversation about food waste!"


2)  USDA's Use of Share Tables in Child Nutrition Programs: Unopened, commercially pre-packaged items such as cereal packs, yogurt, crackers, and cheese sticks, whole pieces of fruit and unopened milk or dairy products can be collected at your school.  This practice is encouraged by the USDA’s Food & Nutrition Service guidelines for Child Nutrition Programs. Local and State health and food safety codes need to be followed.  There are several options for collected foods: 1) students can take any item at no additional cost; 2)  items can be served during another meal service, like after school programs 3) items can be offered to staff; or 4) items can be donated to a non-profit 501c3, like Food Rescue US.   
To learn more:
World Wildlife Fund's Four Ways to Fight School Food Waste: 
USDA's Use of Share Tables in Child Nutrition Programs:

3) Foam-Free School Lunch flyer (attached)

4) GPS Foodware Cost Analysis (attached)




Sent from my iPhone
Foam Tray flyer .pdf

Friday, April 13, 2018

Trayless Tuesdays Makes Significant Impact!



Partnering with PTAC Green Schools, the Food Service Department will be implementing Trayless Tuesdays beginning April 24, 2018.  What began as a successful student initiative in Parkway School a few years back, the program will now be rolled out district-wide.  Serving an average of 2700 meals a day, the district has a potential to reduce its use of polystyrene trays by 97,000 units.  Developing menus that are paper boat friendly for Tuesdays will allow students to dine knowing they are taking positive steps to help the environment.  

-- 
John Hopkins
Food Service Director

Friday, February 16, 2018

Green Schools Resources _ shared by Sue Quincy at CT DEEP

If your school is working on school gardens, health and wellness programs in the cafeteria, or nutrition perhaps these resources will help you along the way.
Remember if you are looking for support to develop curriculum and school use of grounds, gardens, health and nutrition for the classrooms we can provide teacher ready materials.  Contact me if you have any questions.

Saturday, March 4, 2018, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Teaching with A Garden
Project Food, Land and People Workshop
Kellogg Environmental Center, 500 Hawthorne Ave, Derby
Free to Green LEAF schools
Day focused on understand natural resources and science of food.  Using NGSS we will implement school gardens and schoolyards
For unit development in the classroom. 
Email interest to participate susan.quincy@ct.gov

75.00 stipend for participating educators.

You may want to know the following:

Get Out and Grow School Garden Grant & Sweepstakes
The Get Out and Grow School Garden Sweepstakes is open to School Administrators and Foodservice Directors of K-12 schools. Schools can win up to $15,000 cash towards a school garden and a visit from a Team USA Athlete. Who Should Apply: State accredited K-12 school located in the 50 United States and D.C. Deadline is March 11, 2018. Learn more and apply here.

Farm to School 101 & Funding Opportunities webinar
February 28 // 5pm ET
USDA’s Office of Community Food Systems and the National Young Farmers Coalition invite you to attend “Farm to School 101 & Funding Opportunities.” This webinar will cover what USDA means by “farm to school”, the different ways to incorporate farm to school programs into your business plan, and how working with schools can impact and bring value to your operation.  Funding, including grant opportunities, will be covered.Register here

The Business of Farm to School
March 15 // 5pm ET
This webinar will cover the procurement (purchasing) rules that schools follow, describe questions and talking points to discuss when selling to and building relationships with schools, identify which products schools are looking for, and highlight the different Child Nutrition Programs (CNP’s) that provide these opportunities- hint- it’s not just school lunch! This webinar is coordinated by USDA Office of Community Food Systems and the National Young Farmers Coalition, and is geared towards farmers and producers selling to schools as a new market. Register here

Research & Resources 
1. New Study: Students Need Help Navigating Food Environments
A new study in the Journal of School Health, by Dr. Marissa Burgermaster and the Tisch Food Center team, provides further evidence that nutrition education needs to happen hand-in-hand with efforts to improve the food environments students encounter on a daily basis. Read more here

2. New Study: Making Nutrition Education Work in Schools
A study just out in the Journal of School Health, by Dr. Kathleen Porter and Tisch Food Center team members, sheds light on why and how New York City schools make external nutrition education programs part of their school’s every day culture. Findings from Dr. Porter and team give insight into the why-to and how-to of successfully adopting and sustaining nutrition education programs. Findings are based on analysis of interviews with school community members from 21 NYC schools that had one or more nutrition education programs. Read more here

3. Food Systems Leadership Network -  Community Food Systems Mentorship Program
The Wallace Center at Winrock International’s new Food Systems Leadership Network initiative includes a Community Food Systems Mentorship Program. This program seeks to provide emerging leaders with the opportunity to closely engage with more seasoned leaders as thought partners and coaches. The goal of this program is to create a space for experienced leaders to lend an ear to emerging leaders, and share their wisdom, knowledge, and expertise from years of practice in the good food movement. This Program will be offered twice annually, and will include 8 hours of one on one mentorship over a 3 month period for each mentee. The Spring application closes Feb. 15. Learn more here.  



Susan Quincy
Environmental Education Specialist
Coordinator Project Food, Land & People and Project WET
State Parks Public Outreach
Natural Resource and Recreation
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Kellogg Environmental Center, 500 Hawthorne Ave, Derby CT  06418P: 203-734-2513   susan.quincy@ct.gov

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Conserving, improving and protecting our natural resources and environment;
Ensuring a clean, affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy supply.



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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

  1. BYOGreenwich https://byogreenwich.org/
  • BYOGreenwich Mission: BYOGreenwich's mission is to encourage the use of reusable checkout bags in our town for the benefit and welfare of our entire community.
  • If this fact helps: This initiative was voted for by Peter Tesei, John Toner and Drew Marzullo in July 2017. Also it was presented, informally, to Sandy Litvack in December 2017.
  • BYOGreenwich strives to be apolitical.  is encouraged by the blind support this initiative is receiving from our community residents, local businesses and non-profits to keep Greenwich clean and be leaders in environmental stewardship for our Town, our State and our Country.
  • We and our children all need clean water, clean air and clean land! https://byogreenwich.org/
  • Schedule of Events: I will speak with Michael Casey my Green Schools Co-Chair to see if we can Co-Sponsor the 1/25th event.
Thursday, February 1st: "Educate Yourself" - Google “Plastic Bag Pollution” and BYOGreenwichNewsroom. (Meg MK can be there on behalf of Green Schools & GEC)
Thursday, February 8th: Reusable Bag Drive at Town Hall, Drop Off a Bag/ Pick Up a Bag, 10-2pm
(—WE WOULD WELCOME ONE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY SPONSOR—) - (Meg MK can be there on behalf of Green Schools & GEC)
Wednesday, February 14th: Celebrate LOVE by giving a reusable bag to your loved ones
(—ANY AND ALL IDEAS ARE WELCOMED—) (Meg MK will blog that on Green Schools; will share w/ GEC)
Saturday, February 24th: Greenwich Beach Clean Up with Greenwich Shellfish Commission, Surfrider Foundation and possibly Green & Clean & GRAB , location TBD (Green Schools & GEC)
Monday, March 12th: Potential RCBI Ordinance RTM Vote date, Central Middle School, 8pm
(—WE WOULD WELCOME ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY SPONSORS TO COME TO THIS MEETING AND READ A STATEMENT OF SUPPORT) (Meg MK can be there on behalf of Green Schools & GEC)