Portland Public Schools -- News - District’s surplus food feeds hungry, saves landfill fees

District’s surplus food feeds hungry, saves landfill fees

Many school cafeterias face a dilemma as they prepare for extended breaks: What to do with leftover perishable foods? Portland Public Schools, working with local organizations, keeps the food from going to waste, distributing thousands of pounds of food — from salad fixings to pizza rolls — to hungry people in our community.

PPS has donated food through Fork It Over, a program of Metro, since 2004. The district selects agencies that want the food, can collect it on the last day of school before break, will handle the donated food safely, and can give the district data on the volume of food and other feedback about the program.

Nancy Bond, the district’s resource conservation specialist, works with AmeriCorps members, cafeteria staff and the Nutrition Services department to organize the effort. Schools select perishable prepared or fresh foods whose expiration date falls before school resumes, or food that has been reheated and can’t be served again in school cafeterias.

“It’s a great program,” says AmeriCorps member Cassedy Sullivan, who coordinates food pickups. “It’s an opportunity for PPS to donate food for the hungry during the holidays and to reduce the amount of waste coming out of our schools.”

In the last four years, PPS had donated more than 100,000 pounds of food.While that’s significant, the average donation is about 25 pounds per school. All told, donations represent less than 1 percent of the volume of food PPS serves, impressive for a large food service operation.

For more information on Fork It Over, contact Nancy Bond at 503-916-2000, ext. 4279.

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Portland Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer and educator.

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