In Alexandria City Public School (Va.) cafeterias, every day is Earth Day! The school nutrition program has made it their mission to reduce, reuse and recycle, and to bring as much locally-grown produce onto cafeteria menus as possible.
Every cafeteria features compost bins for food, beverages, paper serving boats and milk cartons, as well as recycling bins for cans, plastic and cardboard. The district uses polystyrene trays, and instead of sending them to a landfill, trays are collected and transported to a waste-to-energy facility, which converts them to more clean BTUs than expended. Even kitchen waste is recycled – the high school Garden Club turns scraps into compost for the student run Discovery Garden.
This commitment to environmental responsibility carries over to the administrative offices too. The district has made a point of purchasing energy efficient equipment and cleaning products that are Earth friendly. Offices recycle paper and printer cartridges and have launched an effort to reduce paper use, saving over 50,000 sheets.
School menus are “green” too! Whenever it is available, the district’s produce vendor is under orders to purchase locally grown produce from farmers within about 200 miles of Alexandria. The cafeteria has also used student-grown lettuce, radishes, onions and tomatoes in daily chef salads. Before school lets out for the summer, the district is planning a special event for students featuring locally grown strawberries and student-raised greens. Parents are volunteering to hand out seed packets so students can grow even more fresh produce at home.
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