My team worked on a capstone project addressing food waste in the Clarke County School District (Made in CCSD: Food Waste Diversion). Our project was centered around the Athens Community Career Academy where we worked with our project partner, Emmanuel Stone, who is a chef teaching culinary classes there. The Career Academy channels students from the nearby high schools, Cedar-Shoals and Clarke Central High School. Initially, Chef Stone described the noticeable issue of food waste in the Career Academy. Due to USDA guidelines, kids are required to take food from each food group, despite whether they intended to eat it. This resulted, as observed by Chef Stone, in much food being taken directly from the lunch line and into the trash can. At the time my team entered the project, a single, small yellow bin existed, intended for kids to place their uneaten food items in to attempt to divert food waste from the trash; and this bin was located quite far and relatively inconveniently from the lunch line in comparison to the trash can. Chef Stone wanted my team to find a way that the edible food waste could be collected and therefore diverted more effectively; additionally, he wanted us to find out whether the food collected could be donated. It was hoped that a pilot could be run and that, eventually, a similar food waste diversion program could be implemented throughout other high schools in Clarke County.
As we worked on this project, the tasks we were asked to do proved to be much more challenging than could have been anticipated. At first, we came up with a project that involved spreading awareness and knowledge about food waste within the Academy through use of informational booths, student interviews to understand perspectives on food waste, and recruiting existing student ambassadors to get involved through being leaders in food waste diversion. To do this, we were going to create a student handbook detailing how to conduct food waste audits and other related information to help students take the issue into their own hands. However, we felt that this version of our project was lacking in that we wanted to make sure there was a lasting impact on the Career Academy, and it was unclear whether we could create a strong enough culture surrounding food waste to the point that students would take it upon themselves to continue such a program without our help once the semester was over. We also felt that something was missing. Since the problem of food waste is a large one to tackle in general, we thought there might be some larger barrier than what meets the eye. So, rather than jumping into creating such a large undertaking, it seemed wiser to instead do some research and dig deeper into the issue of food waste in Clarke County. As a result, we restructured our project to instead create a comprehensive report outlining the food waste issue and potential ways it could be addressed in the Clarke County school system. More specifically, we focused on understanding the legislation and policies, possible grant opportunities, finding potential community partners and the process behind creating an effective pilot for future capstones.
After starting on our new trajectory, it appeared that what we were initially asked to do was far beyond the scope of this project, as the obstacles could not have been overcome within the timeframe (especially due to the COVID-19 crisis). Through research, we found out that there is policy that prevents food from being taken out from the school system in Clarke County, which makes for restrictions in merely redistributing the edible food within schools in the county. This was an extremely important discovery, as our project partner was unaware of this and it meant that, at least currently, food was not allowed to be donated to community partners outside of the school. This appears to be the case specifically within Clarke County, but not others counties in Athens. A second important discovery made was that there is much conflicting wording in the current literature about whether students are “required” to take food from each food group, or just that schools are required to offer these options. The ambiguity in the literature as well as the seemingly nonsensical restriction on donations both appear to provide a strong basis to reveal leeway in the system and offer potential to create a proposal for reducing food waste that can surpass these legal barriers. Additionally, my part of the research focused on how, after these legal barriers were surpassed, we could then implement an effective pilot program in the Career Academy and, subsequently, in high schools throughout Clarke County. I did research on Community-based Social Marketing (CBSM), which is a method that has consistently shown to be effective in promoting sustainable behavior change through first identifying barriers and benefits to a behavior of choice and then implementing a program accordingly. In terms of food waste behaviors in high schools, there was little literature to be found, but there was plenty to be found on food waste behavior in general. Using what I learned through the literature review as well as observations made by my team when visiting the Career Academy, I was able to provide recommendations for which methods were best for identifying barriers and benefits in this situation, along with which strategies to overcome barriers may be effective (centered around promoting the behavior of using the yellow bin). Although due to the virus we were unable to actually identify the barriers and benefits reported by students, I did create sample interview questions for a future project. I also compiled resources for better understanding how to properly implement CBSM. We hope that our preliminary research efforts in our report can allow for an expedited, smoother, and more successful program for future capstone teams.
Our project reflects all three spheres in sustainability: economic, ecological, and social. Provided that the initial barrier in legislation can be overcome, money can be saved through less food being wasted and less resources used to both bring as much food to the school as well as less waste disposal expenditures. Ecologically, diverting food from landfills reduces the release of greenhouse gases, such as methane, that are produced from rotting food. Socially, this project hopes to foster a culture of sustainability in Clarke County schools, as well as to better understand human behavior behind the food waste issue. If donations throughout the Athens community were to become allowed, it would also help to address the issue of food insecurity.
The capstone experience has definitely impacted my sustainability learning and has made me more appreciative of the process behind facilitating a more sustainable community. I learned through direct experience that sometimes it is much more valuable to take the time to research and plan a program thoroughly first rather than rush into a less effectively designed program. I also learned that not everything will go according to plan, and adjustments will need to be made constantly. For instance, another challenge we had was dealing with COVID-19, as the virus inhibited my team from being able to address every part of the report that we intended (particularly in the ability to contact potential community partners), but we did what we could in the time allotted to us. Time management is also essential; the semester goes by much faster than expected and it requires one to prioritize and be practical in achieving specific goals. Additionally, we were given very little guidance. This was both inhibiting and facilitating for my team because although we were frustrated at times, it coerced us to work more fluidly as a team to make sure we knew what we were doing. Despite newfound realization of how intimidating addressing issues in sustainability can be, I now feel much more equipped with experience and knowledge of how to deal with them in practical, time-constraining ways.
