Northwood’s efforts to reduce waste don’t stop with recycling bins. Instead of going to waste, the cafeteria’s excess edible food is now redirected to assist families across Orange County through the Edible Food Recovery and Donation Program.

Beginning this year, Northwood’s Nutrition Services staff began collecting and delivering leftover food to ChowMatch, a nonprofit that matches food donations with food assistance organizations such as food banks. These organizations then distribute nourishing meals to families facing financial hardship.

“We freeze the leftover food on Fridays, and then we’ll weigh all of it on the following Monday,” food service lead Ashika Thomas said. “If it’s above 10 pounds, ChowMatch will pick it up, deliver it to their center and disperse it among the community.”

The program was primarily a response to California Senate Bill 1383, a law passed in 2016 that requires all schools with on-site food facilities to redirect at least 20% of food currently wasted to underserved individuals by 2025. Although Northwood has been limiting surplus by adjusting food orders and using share boxes where students can leave packaged foods that others can take at no cost, leftovers were still discarded prior to this year.

“I’m very glad we started participating in this program because there are so many kids and adults in the community that go without having enough food,” Thomas said. “With this program, we can donate food that’s still good to underprivileged families.”

To ensure food safety, meals that have been tampered with are discarded. Only foods that have been properly stored and packaged are donated.

“If the kids are in line and they put the hot food in the cold section, we take it out and freeze it so that it doesn’t go bad,” Thomas said. “Then we can donate it safely so it doesn’t go to waste.”

By keeping food in the correct sections of the cafeteria and leaving packages unopened, students can support these efforts to help families in our community.