On March 19, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) hosted a Team Up webinar on how to maximize school food resources through proven best practices in procurement, menu planning, marketing, and food safety as well as utilization of any excess food items through donation and/or recycling. A focus of the webinar was to encourage schools to share best practices by signing up for the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, a joint initiative between the USDA, Office of the Chief Economist and the Environmental Protection Agency. This webinar was designed to help schools take action to increase consumption of the foods students choose, as well as decrease food waste in both the kitchen and cafeteria. A recording of the webinar is now available at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBccton6gOdqxXcwmIS-X4f8Wo38gw0be.
FNS is also sharing the following tools on maximizing food resources for use by FNS Regions, State agencies, and other collaborators:
Tools for Maximizing Food Resources slideshow presentation. These slides may be shared and used as a standalone presentation or incorporated into a larger slide deck. You will find the file in the PW Resources section as well as in What's New.
FNS Guidance on the Food Donation Program in Child Nutrition Programs memorandum
Reducing Food Waste: What Schools Can Do Today infographic
Using these resources to reduce, reuse, and recycle food not only maximizes school food budgets, but supports the environment we all share.