A poster of Sebastian Lemberger ’25 urged students to reduce their food waste.
The Phillips Academy Sustainability Coalition (PASC) kicked off Earth Month with the Inter-ESA Food Waste Challenge, an initiative aimed to limit food waste during lunch over three Thursdays, including April 10, 17, and 24.
Each day, volunteers stationed before the busing conveyor collected and weighed uneaten food, disposable food service items, and inedible food waste. Andover is competing against other New England schools, among them Exeter and Hotchkiss, to generate the least amount of post-consumer waste. The school that tallies in the lowest average between all three days will be deemed the winner.
The Inter-ESA Food Waste Challenge, acts as an Extension of the work the PASC has done in the past years, including the Green Cup Challenge where dormitories compete against each other to be energy efficient. Allison Guerette, Andover’s Campus Sustainability Coordinator detailed the purpose of the Food Waste Challenge and the larger Andover Climate Action Plan.
“The Food Waste Challenge raises awareness about the environmental, social, and economic impacts of food waste, and it moves us closer to our Climate Action Plan goal of becoming a Zero Waste campus by 2030. Zero Waste means increasing diversion of waste from landfills and incinerators and reducing total overall waste,” wrote Guerette in an email to The Phillipian.
Guerette continued, “The goal of the food waste challenge is to raise awareness about food waste in general and offer small strategies in the dining hall setting, such as starting with a portion you think you will eat, with the understanding you can return for more or another menu item. We want students trying new foods and getting the nourishment they need.”
Moreover, according to a 2018 Food Waste Challenge video, Andover produces approximately 730 pounds of food waste every day. Jessica Zhao ’27 expressed that the presence of monitors incentivized her to reflect on the items she chooses to dispose of.
“I would say that the challenge has reduced my waste. It makes you think about whether or not you should be wasting certain items, or if you’re actually able to finish the food on your plate. As students at Andover, we do waste a great deal of food because of how widely accessible it is. It’s really not beneficial for the environment at all,” said Zhao.
The student volunteers are Ecoleaders: representatives that educate their respective dormitories about sustainable choices and initiatives. Bruce Ru ’28, an Ecoleader from Rockwell House, voiced excitement regarding his involvement with the program.
“[The challenge] represents a major advance in the work we’re doing because Ecoleaders actually think about the world. If we’re not doing any tangible work, if we’re just talking to the community–while that’s obviously a very important part of the process–I believe it was very important to actually do some of the ground work and show people that there are decisions you can make that don’t necessarily have to decrease your quality of life. Being environmentally conscious is about making tangible choices, and I’m very proud to be supporting them. Having an event like this really puts the problem in people’s faces, and I think that is very essential,” said Ru.
Amy Oku ’25, who is a CoHead of EcoAction, explained how the challenge was started to have students be more aware of their food waste and motivate them to take smaller servings.
“Even though Commons feels like it has endless food, people should be more aware of how much they take. Some take a lot because they don’t want to wait in line again, but that leads to waste. I know friends who do that and still leave food on their plates. I hope they learn from it,” said Oku.
Oku added that while uneaten food is composted, if the food is uneaten, Paresky Commons donates to food banks.
“Any untouched food at Commons goes to food banks, but post-consumer food waste ends up in compost. It’s never eaten and wastes energy. I don’t think people realize that when they throw away food,” said Oku.
