Your School Can Make a Difference
Reduce Food Waste & Feed Our Hungry Neighbors
A lot of people don’t have the same access to good quality food as us, so we should help them. When you get a chance to help people, you should do it. It’s really important to give back.
– Newark Academy I-Rescue Lunch volunteer
At Table to Table, we partner with schools to rescue nutritious food and feed people in need. Schools like yours can join our I-Rescue Lunch, Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch, and even host food drives–several easy ways to make a real impact while earning credit for the Sustainable Jersey Schools Certification program. Check the Sustainable NJ website for specific requirements.
Once your school completes an activity, you will receive an exciting Table to Table toolkit for grades Pre-K to 8 with lesson plans and fun activities about reducing food waste.
Plus, students can earn a badge to become an official Table to Table Food Rescue Hero!
Interested in participating in any of these initiatives? Click the button to get started.
I-Rescue Lunch
The I-Rescue Lunch program encourages K-12 students to collect surplus food from their cafeterias that is still safe to eat. Instead of throwing out extra meals, we can help rescue and distribute them to local food pantries, shelters, and families in need.
Since you will be donating food externally to our organization and our community partners, your school could earn 10 points for the Sustainable NJ Food Recovery – Share Tables & Donation.
Click the arrow to the right to learn how I-Rescue works. Join us to make a difference!
How It Works
Collect unused, sealed, or unopened meals: Whole, uncut fruit, sealed bags of sliced fruit, prepackaged perishable & non-perishable foods, and unopened containers of milk can all be saved. Crates will be provided for students to fill with donations, making it easy for volunteers to pick up.
We pick it up: Our volunteer will come to your school to collect the food.
We deliver it: The meals go to local food banks and shelters.
Get credit: Complete the Donation section of the Sustainable NJ Food Recovery Submission Form and earn 10 points for donating recovered food.
Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch
The Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch program is a school event that encourages community service and engagement in partnership with Table to Table. Students will host a school-wide donation drive, donating the equivalent of one day’s lunch money to support Table to Table’s food rescue mission.
Students will gain awareness of the impact that even just $1 can have on providing meals for their community, and the greater impact that school-wide collective action can have in supporting a cause.
Ongoing participation from your school could earn you 10 points from Sustainable NJ’s Civic & Stewardship or Green Challenge.
Want more details? Click to the arrow to the right to learn how Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch works. Join us to make an impact!
How It Works
Set a date and fundraising goal: Pick a day to host the event, assign a Team Captain, and set a fundraising goal.
We provide the logistics: We provide schools with our signature Table to Table brown paper lunch bags or we can create a customized fundraising webpage for the event to collect donations.
Spread the word: Students post flyers, make posters, and distribute donation bags. We can help in providing campaign fliers and QR codes to make your event a success.
Host the event: On the day of the event, students, staff, and members of the community place their “lunch” money in the brown bag provided, seal it, and give the bags to the Team Captain. All students can participate as ambassadors to help promote the campaign and get classmates excited.
See your impact: At the end of the campaign, we will help you tally all the donations so you can report back on your total impact.
Get credit: Host Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch and you could be eligible to earn 10 points for Sustainable NJ’s Civic & Stewardship or Green Challenge. Check the Sustainable NJ website for specific requirements.
Food Drives
Your schools can make a meaningful impact by hosting a Table to Table food drive! We partner with schools–from elementary through high school and even universities–on a wide range of food drives to collect nutritious fresh fruits and veggies, scrumptious sandwiches, and turkeys and hams for the holidays.
Ongoing participation from your school could earn you 10 points from Sustainable NJ’s Food Recovery or Civic & Stewardship.
Want more details? Click to the arrow to the right to learn how Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch works. Join us to make an impact!
How It Works
Set a date and fundraising goal: Pick a day to host the event, assign a Team Captain, and set a fundraising goal.
We provide the logistics: We provide schools with our signature Table to Table brown paper lunch bags or we can create a customized fundraising webpage for the event to collect donations.
Spread the word: Students post flyers, make posters, and distribute donation bags. We can help in providing campaign fliers and QR codes to make your event a success.
Host the event: On the day of the event, students, staff, and members of the community place their “lunch” money in the brown bag provided, seal it, and give the bags to the Team Captain.
See your impact: At the end of the campaign, we will help you tally all the donations so you can report back on your total impact.
Get credit: Host both a Bag a Lunch, Help a Bunch and an I-Rescue Lunch food drive (or at least one other activity with a community organization) and be eligible to earn 10 points from Food Recovery or Civic & Stewardship requirements.
Community Activities
If your school is passionate about rescuing food or reducing food waste, consider educating your community about sustainability too! Host an event at your school or library and/or partner with another organization to create an exciting enrichment program.
Ongoing participation by your school could earn you 10 points from both Sustainable NJ’s Community Education & Outreach or Enrichment Programs Through Partnership.
Did You Know?
- Nearly 40 pounds of food and 30 cartons of milk are wasted per student per year!
- 45 million gallons of milk in schools is discarded annually—equivalent to filling 68 Olympic-size swimming pools
- Rotting food in landfills produces methane gas that is 21 times more harmful to the environment than CO2.
- The Richard Russell National School Lunch Act was amended to encourage school food recovery in November of 2011.
- Good faith food donations from schools receive liability protection via the federal Good Samaritan Act and the State of New Jersey.
- With adherence to food safety guidelines, the USDA supports the donation of unopened, unpeeled and uneaten items from student lunch trays.
Become a Student Ambassador
Through the Table to Table Ambassador Program, Middle and High school students serve as an ambassador to raise support for Table to Table in their school. Duties include assisting with program and volunteer outreach, and overseeing the donations.
Together, We Can Make a Lasting Impact
By rescuing food and helping pack meals for those in need, your school will be part of a collective effort to fight hunger, reduce food waste, and inspired future generations to think about the world around them.