A group of public school systems across the country has formed an alliance to make schools more environmentally responsible and to help change nutrition and sustainability policies. Known as the Urban School Food Alliance, the group includes the public schools in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Orlando.
One of the group’s first initiatives is to replace disposable plastic foam lunch trays used in school cafeterias with plates made from sugar cane. The new compostable plates were tested last spring at a handful of Miami schools.
The plan is to replace the plastic plates with compostable plates by next September for more than 2.6 million students in Alliance school systems. That would add up to some 270 million plates a year, eliminating a stack of plastic several hundred miles tall that would otherwise end up in landfills.
The Urban School Food Alliance was formed at a 2012 school nutrition conference and is setting its sights on multiple goals, including promoting the use of healthier foods in school cafeterias. Other initiatives include the use of sustainable tableware, pesticide-free fruits, and foods with less packaging waste.
The group faces challenges in meeting budgetary requirements for their greening projects, but hopes to use combined purchasing power to achieve its goals.
Working together, participants hope to teach students sustainable living by providing school-based examples. Both kids and the environment stand to benefit.
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Web Links
Urban Schools Aim for Environmental Revolution
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/02/us/urban-schools-aim-for-environmental-revolution.html
Photo, taken on February 23, 2011, courtesy of Lauren Schwartzberg/ Medill News Service via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.