Barnegat Students Learn To Curb Food Waste Through Rutgers Program

BARNEGAT, NJ — It's estimated that food waste makes up between 30 to 40 percent of the food supply here in the United States. That's a lot of food getting thrown away. But students in Barnegat are trying to cut that down as they enter the third year of a successful Rutgers University program.

Barnegat Township School District’s (BTSD) Robert L. Horbelt Intermediate School (RLHS) will again participate in a Rutgers University study following last year’s successful program that taught young students the skills needed to lead healthier and more sustainable lifestyles, the district announced in a news release.

NJ School Climate Change Corps employs AmeriCorps members to teach a unit of lessons called Guardians of the Food Galaxy (formerly NJ Leaves No Bite Behind) and blends weekly lessons, engaging activities, and informative videos designed to educate students about environmental sustainability and their carbon footprint. The program emphasizes how individuals can make an impact by reducing food waste at school and home. Rutgers trains AmeriCorps members to run the lessons and measure the effect it has on food waste throughout each year.

“It’s important that we teach our students how to take care of the planet and especially, each other,” said BTSD Superintendent Brian Latwis. “By emphasizing the importance of environmental sustainability, we are helping them understand how to take responsibility for their actions and how those actions impact the world around them. This program reinforces those skills.”

The program was piloted at the school during a six-week series of lessons in the 2022-2023 school year led by Rutgers University’s Departments of Family and Community Health Sciences, Nutritional Sciences, and Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The program returned in 2023-2024 school year under a new name, “The Guardians of the Food Galaxy.”

Food waste began being measured by weight at the start of the 2022-2023 school year. Professionals monitored the changes following the six-week pilot program and again during the following school year. As a result, cafeteria food waste was reduced by almost 34 percent after the pilot program concluded, according to the district.

In its second year, the program expanded to include weekly lessons, with the addition of an Americorps representative serving as part of the NJ School Climate Change Corps. Along with a new lesson schedule and other resources, the school year saw the use of “share tables” during the student’s lunch period. Based on research conducted by Rutgers and recommendations from the Center for Ecotechnology, these tables encourage students to donate unopened snacks and uneaten food to those struggling with food insecurity instead of throwing them out. The tables even featured crates and refrigerators to store food and keep it fresh. After the second year, results showed food waste at RLHS decreased by 57 percent, according to the district.

“The ‘share tables’ let students see their impact on food waste firsthand and the simple things they can do to stop it,” said Jennifer Shukaitis, associate professor and educator in Rutgers University’s Department for Family and Community Health Sciences. “Instead of throwing out food, now students can help those in need.”

Dedicated students were able to compete in a fun “Food Waste Hero Challenge,” which had them employ the skills and tools they learned in the weekly lessons in their lives outside of school. They earned points and won rewards for activities such as boxing up leftover food for later or bringing reusable water bottles to school. Prizes ranged from gift cards to a pizza party and even a composting system for high scoring classrooms, all of which helped keep the kids excited and engaged for the next lesson.

Rutgers professionals took an end-of-year measurement for 2023-2024 to see how food waste and student knowledge was affected by the new lessons and reinforced habits during the school day. Food waste decreased significantly, from 34 percent in the pilot year to 57 percent. Additionally, nearly 70 percent of students reported learning a lot from the program and 80 percent of the students said they had fun, thanks to engaging teaching methods such as games, experiments and videos.

The New Jersey Leaves No Bite Behind Research Project was funded by a 2021 Recycling Enhancement Act Higher Education Research Grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protections and New Jersey School Climate Change Corps is supported by an Americorps Grant.

The program will continue for another two years and has already expanded to nine other school districts from the four original pilot program districts. For more information on the Guardians of the Food Galaxy program visit sites.rutgers.edu/gotfg/ and for the latest news from Barnegat Township School district visit barnegatschools.com.