BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

A win for no-waste

By Miri D'Cruz, age 14 and Alyssa Barrett, age 14 | May 27, 2024

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SERVING SUSTAINABILITY River Oaks Baptist eighth grader Miri D'Cruz and St. Mark’s Episcopal eighth grader Alyssa Barrett teamed up to reduce their schools’ food waste.

Can we feed our community with the extra food from our schools? That’s what we pondered as we noticed that there was always leftover cooked food in the lunch lines of River Oaks Baptist and St. Mark’s Episcopal schools. We were taught from a young age not to waste food, and we thought there must be a way to use this extra food to feed Houston’s less fortunate. We’re happy to say we were awarded Girl Scout Silver Awards for our efforts.

Unfortunately, most food banks do not accept donations of cooked food. But with some research, we discovered a non-profit called Second Servings, which rescues prepared and perishable surplus food from schools and businesses and delivers it that day to soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and those in need. We realized that through Second Servings, we could easily reduce our community’s waste and feed those in need without any additional money or resources. To see firsthand how fresh food could have an impact, we volunteered at several of Second Servings’ PopUp Grocery Stores and helped distribute collected food to the community.

We immediately began to inquire with our schools’ administration and dining programs about participating in this project, and we found that both of our schools were mindful about reducing waste. River Oaks Baptist School agreed to expand their relationship with Second Servings to include daily pickup and even breakfast items. Similarly, St. Mark’s Episcopal School agreed to donate perishable surplus food before its winter and summer breaks and as needed during the school year. Moreover, both schools have agreed to continue their involvement after we graduate by hosting speakers to educate students about food waste and hosting food drives to build awareness of this issue within each school.

We are appreciative for both schools’ participation and support in this project, and we are forever grateful for the guidance provided by the founder and president of Second Servings, Barbara Bronstein. In earning our Silver Awards, we realized how much we both like to help others and will continue to look for ways to make positive impacts within our community.

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