Connecticut schools are dedicated to food sustainability.

A study highlighting this fact was led by Ellen Shanley, lecturer and director of the dietetics program, and Valerie Duffy, professor, both of whom reside in the Department of Allied Health Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR). They published their results in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The study, which surveyed 55 public school food service directors, found that 98% of schools reported sometimes or always purchasing local produce. In addition, 91% purchase local dairy.

Sourcing food locally is a key sustainability issue as these foods do not need to be transported long distances, reducing carbon emissions. It also supports local producers.

“If you use less processed food, you have to have more ability to get fresh. It has to be not just large agribusiness, but locally grown,” Duffy says. “Part of our national security is the ability to grow food or prepare food locally.”

Some of these local purchasing initiatives are supported by the Farm to School Program. The study found that 60% of surveyed schools participate in farm-to-school activities.

Farm to School provides children with hands-on experiences that teach them about growing and cooking food. The program also helps get locally sourced food into cafeterias and connects schools and students with local farmers.

“If you have a better connection between the food that is served and it’s more local and it’s a better quality, and then you couple that with education on site, then you’re going to have less waste and you’re going to have a child that is better able to learn because they’re healthier,” Duffy says.

The researchers also asked respondents about their use of biodegradable products. They found that many schools use biodegradable trays but not utensils, which are not cost-effective for the often resource-strapped programs. Many schools also do not have dishwashers, so reusable utensils are not a viable option.

When it comes to composting and recycling, only 36% of schools reported that they compost food waste and other compostable materials “sometimes” or “always.”

Some school systems have found inventive ways to make use of food scraps. The New London food system, for example, sends scraps to a local pig farm.

“A school system has to have one person who is very passionate about composting,” Shanley says. “You also have to train the students, and you have to have buy-in from everyone in this system to commit to separating into the bins correctly so that the compost is not contaminated. Everyone working together is an important piece of this.”

The study revealed that 58% of schools serve plant-based meals at least once a month. These meals usually contain beans as their plant-based protein, which has a much smaller carbon footprint than meat.

“It didn’t appear that many school food services had that many meatless meals,” Shanley says.

The researchers are launching a follow-up study to ask more questions about composting and meatless meals, seeing those as two of the largest areas for growth.

In their initial survey, the researchers used the term “plant-based” which could include meals that have a primarily plant-based protein but are not entirely vegetarian depending on how respondents interpreted the question.

Schools have been moving towards cooking fresh meals rather than reheating pre-prepared, heavily processed foods. This requires building partnerships with local farmers and opens opportunities for nutrition education, such as through the USDA’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.

A large part of this initiative is to educate students and, through them, their families about different foods and how to use them.

“You can’t just give people food because they might not know how to prepare it,” Duffy says. “You don’t want to give people food that they’re not going to eat. That would be a big waste. The best outcome is where you give food, like any of the food assistance programs, and you couple it with nutrition education.”

This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Ensuring a Vibrant and Sustainable Agricultural Industry and Food Supply.

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