Over 13 million kids in the United States face food insecurity.
For some children, the food they get at school may be the only food they’re guaranteed to have all day long.
There’s also a huge food waste problem in this country, and if you’ve ever been to an elementary school cafeteria, you know that kids throw a lot of food into the garbage. Here’s the innovative way one elementary school in Florida is tackling both problems head-on.
It’s called the Share Table. Students can drop by the Share Table at lunchtime and drop off any prepackaged foods or whole fruits they don’t want to eat. Students who are hungry can take whatever food they want to eat.
It was just a test, but the Share Table was such a great success that it’s going to be launching full time in the next school year.
If there’s any food left over at the end of the day, administrators take the food to a local food bank or church to continue doing good instead of wasting the items.
Ultimately, it’s a pretty genius way to help others and stay fed throughout the day. One year ago, the United States Department of Agriculture issued a memo, endorsing this concept as “an innovative strategy to encourage the consumption of nutritious foods and reduce food waste.”
Instagram / sustainable_america
(via BoredPanda)