Program Goal

Our goal is to feed people, NOT landfills. Often times after offering our students healthy, nutritious meals, there may be some prepared food that's leftover. In the past, most of this food from our nineteen school production kitchens and 159 cafeteria kitchens was destined for the landfill.

Reasons to Focus on Food Waste

It's the right thing to do! In San Diego County, over 500,000 tons of food waste is sent to local landfills each year. This food gradually decays and releases methane, a strong greenhouse gas. At the same time 1 in 6 San Diegans don't know where their next meal will come from. That's 435,000 people, including 150,000 children facing food insecurity. Just 5% of the 500,000 tons of food wasted locally each year would fill the meal gap for those in need in San Diego.
It's the law! In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save valuable landfill space, State law (AB 1826) requires schools to divert organic waste, including food, landscape/garden waste, and wood waste from landfill disposal by 2019.

Love Food Not Waste

SDUSD is committed to keeping leftover prepared food from school meals out of the landfill. Through our Love Food Not Waste program, this food is rescued and provided to local hunger relief organizations coordinated through our partnership with Feeding San Diego. These organizations are then able to extend a meal to those facing food insecurity in and around our school communities.

How is Food Rescued?

The food rescue program is centered around our 19 middle and high school production kitchen hubs or "clusters." These clusters include the nearby schools that are provided food and related supplies from the production kitchen each day via a Food & Nutrition Services (FNS) delivery truck. Every school in the cluster collects packaged or kitchen wrapped items that were over-produced and un-served food from breakfast or Breakfast in the Classroom, and lunch. Where possible, foods such as chicken nuggets or unwrapped burgers at elementary schools are bagged and labeled for rescue. This food is kept under refrigeration in the school kitchen, picked up the next day by the FNS delivery driver, and then taken to the cluster production kitchen for pick up by a local hunger relief organization (HRO).

Results

Since the program's inception in September 2016 through June 2017 we have rescued more than 111,900 pounds of food from school breakfasts and lunches, equating to 93,266 meals. The program continues through the summer at those production kitchens preparing meals for year-round schools, summer school, and other summer meal programs.

Elementary

Middle

High

K-8

Other

San Diego Unified School District

Our Food Programs

Food & Nutrition Services Programs