Listen to the K-12 Food Rescue Podcast featuring FMS!
Since 2019, the FMS Student Nutrition team started a small composting program at our Central Kitchen, and we're excited to share that it has now grown to include all 20 school site kitchens, with plans to extend to every cafeteria soon.
Composting is a process that turns organic materials into nutrient-rich soil or mulch through natural decomposition. This not only reduces the amount of trash in landfills but also cuts down on costs and carbon emissions associated with handling and processing waste materials.
We partnered with FoodCorps; a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting kids with healthy food in schools. In the 2023-2024 school year, with the support of our four FoodCorps Service members and the Student Nutrition team, we undertook the task of teaching students and staff at our 10 elementary schools how to compost. This effort was in response to the new SB4 legislation, which ensures that all K-12 students have free breakfasts and lunches starting this school year. The legislation also encourages districts to minimize food waste.
After eight weeks of hard work, we successfully conveyed the essential steps for composting in our elementary schools. Now, our focus is on our eight secondary schools—four middle schools and four high schools. To help with this, FoodCorps and FMS teamed up with the local company Shutterfreek to create a video explaining how to compost and the importance of our composting efforts.
We're proud to share that our humble efforts have received recognition from the Office of the Governor. FMS, along with Santa Fe Public Schools, will be acknowledged at Food & Farms Day 2024 at the Roundhouse. We extend our sincere thanks to everyone involved, especially our students, and we hope that composting becomes a lifelong practice for each of them.
Special thanks go to FoodCorps, Johnathan Aikele (AMF), and Mr. Paul McPherson (Shutterfreek) for their work on the instructional visuals. Also, a huge thanks to our FMS staff for making composting a reality, especially lunch staff, lunch aides, and custodians. Great work! Secondary principals will distribute the video after our Winter Break.
It's an honor to share this fantastic composting instructional video with all of you! FMS Student Nutrition is committed to upholding the "Healthy School Meals for All" statewide legislation, taking care of our planet, and, most importantly, ensuring our students are part of a sustainable practice that benefits us all.
This video was produced by AMF & San Juan Composting. FMS Student Nutrition and K12 by Elior have teamed up with a local company, AMF, to take care of our food and milk waste. We have two main goals with this partnership:
Stop pouring milk down drains, which helps keep our city's water and sewer systems clean.
Prevent food waste from ending up in landfills.
By working together, we're making sure our leftover food and milk are handled responsibly, benefiting both our environment and the community.