Food Waste Diversion  Guide

WPS Food Waste Diversion
Food Donation Start Guide
Who is involved:

• School Principal
  
• Food Services (Director, Lunch Personnel)
  
• Green Team
  
• Parent Volunteers for transporting food donation (Optional)
  
• Wellesley Food Pantry
  

What is needed:

• Large Wheeled Cooler for food collection and transport to Food Pantry (or you may want a separate smaller cooler for collection)
  
• Ice packs
  
• Thermometer for collection cooler (temp. in collection cooler should stay below 40 degrees F)
  
• 1-2 trays in the fridge to store collected food until next transport (mark “Food Pantry Donations”)
  
• Food Donation Posters 
  
• Collection Cooler Temperature Log sheet
  
• Food Donation Responsibilities List (helpful to have)
  
• Food Donation Collection Inventory Sheet (for your records)
  
• Food Donation List
  

How to start:

1. Speak to the Principal at your school to get support for program
   
2. Notify the Food Services Director to communicate intent to start program (mdelaney@wellesleyma.gov)
   
3. Figure out the logistics such as; 
   
   1. How will food be collected (volunteer goes table to table or donation station)?
      
   2. Who is going to put collected foods in the fridge?
      
   3. Who will transport food to the Food Pantry?
      
4. Contact the Director at Wellesley Food Pantry (manager@wellesleyfoodpantry.org) to let them know when you are starting food donation and to determine when you can start dropping off the donation from your school 
   
5. Purchase what is needed from the above list if necessary
   
6. Print out related documents (laminate if necessary)
   
7. Set the start date
   
8. Begin!  Congrats! 
   

Sample process (Sprague):

1. A teacher/student volunteer goes table to table with the cooler to collect unopened food from students
   
2. At the end of the last lunch group, the volunteer takes the cooler to the kitchen and lunch personnel transfers food from the cooler to the tray marked “Food Donation” in the refrigerator
   
3. Repeat 1 & 2 every day when there is lunch
   
4. On Monday between 2 and 3pm, a Green Team member or parent volunteer itemizes the food from the tray in fridge in the Food Donation Collection Inventory sheet, transfers the food to the transport cooler, and delivers the donation to the Wellesley Food Pantry 
   
5. The Green Team member or parent volunteer then brings the cooler back to the school kitchen, cleans and stores it