Empowering youth to creatively achieve zero-waste schools
and climate smart communities
with citizen science, civic action, media and arts!

INNOVATIVE
​ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
and ACTION

TAKE ACTION TODAY
for a clean and healthy future for our oceans, wildlife and our children!  
NYC #BanFoam - styrene foam ban alert here ->
NY #BanTheBag action alert here->   ​
​​Be inspired by NYC youth to refuse single-use plastics!

Watch "Litter Monsters" -from 5th graders!

​Students in our programs debate, ask questions, collect data, and tell their powerful stories about plastic street litter that becomes toxic marine pollution. (more)
​Watch LITTER MONSTERS on Vimeo here ->

#skipthestraw

500 million plastic straws used per day in the US.
Join the campaign!

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Watch and share, DEAR HUMANS made 4th grade students

Watch "Dear Humans" on YouTube; Watch on Vimeo ->

Teach your students
​to sort recycling and organics
with this fun song!

Watch on Youtube ->; Watch on Vimeo ->
​

​Start a CAFETERIA RANGER program
at your school
8 steps
​with videos, signs, badges
and letter templates downloads
all free ->​

Watch on YouTube->; Watch on Vimeo ->

SUBSCRIBE

​WATCH ALL OUR VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE here->

​WATCH ALL OUR VIDEOS ON VIMEO here ->

GRASSROOTS 
ADVOCACY and
​VICTORIES!

STYROFOAM OUT OF SCHOOLS
The ​6 largest school districts did it.
​  ​Your school can too!

​Cafeteria Culture's 
STYROFOAM OUT OF SCHOOLS campaign
catalyzed the complete elimination
of foam trays from NYC schools
and the 5 other largest urban school districts.
NYC, LA, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, and Dallas
divert 1/2 a BILLION foam trays per year 
from landfills, incinerators, and student meals! ​

​Keep Styrofoam Banned in NYC!
Take Action! ->
 Industry-backed org sues NYC 2nd time over NYC foam ban, despite
 -year., in-depth study  that plastic foam is not viably recyclable.

Cafcu Volunteer Puppeteers with giant No-Styrofoam Puppets

Toxic and polluting
plastic styrofoam contaminates
our oceans, wildlife and bodies!

NYC Bag Bill
TAKE ACTION now!
NYC Council voted YES,
on the #BYObag bill,  
but some NY State Policymakers
​blocked  the bill.
Tell Governor Cuomo
to take a stand! learn more->

NEST+m 3rd graders at New York City Hall Bag Bill Rally, April 2016

Read the latest update here and TAKE ACTIONl

Tompkins Square Middle School student, Rebeca, asking NYC Council to vote "yes" for the bag fee (April 2016, City Hall).

MS246 K Walt Whitman students, Shazia, Rachel, Nerlande, & Tiana, speaking personally and passionately on NYC plastic litter with NYC Councilmember Lander (April 2016, City Hall).

​SUBSCRIBE

Support environmental-STEaM, education in underserved public schools

Follow Us
INSTAGRAM @CafCu
TWITTER @CafeteriaCu
                   YOUTUBE- CafCu Media
                   FACEBOOK

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School Programs
citizen science, civic action, media and arts
for a zero waste future

Community Arts+Media
for
Trash Free Waters

Plastic
Free Waters​

Watch on YouTube->; Watch on Vimeo ->​

​International
school partnership 
 to reduce marine litter

Watch on Vimeo->

Zero Waste Cafeterias  
 Cafeteria Rangers  and Make Change Messaging 

Watch on Youtube ->; Watch on Vimeo ->
ARTS+ACTION school programs - creative hands-on learning, student leadership, plus teaching the WHY with HOW! learn more ->
CONTACT US to find out how to bring ARTS+ACTION to your school.

Arts, Media and Civic Action
Students lead on the NYC bag bill

Watch on Youtube -> ; Watch on Vimeo ->
PS34 5th graders from ourARTS+MEDIA for Climate Action program take action on NYC's plastic bag problem, then TAKE ACTION here! 

AWARDS

CafCu + 99 international sustainability innovation

Youth-made Impact Videos
learn more about Trash Free Waters here ->

SUBSCRIBE

The Story of Aliana and Joe - plastic in fish?

Watch on YouTube; Watch ​on Vimeo->

The Dark Beauty of the Beads - #beadfree

Watch on Youtube-> Watch ​on Vimeo->

Journey of Plastic Litter  

Watch on YouTube; Watch ​on Vimeo->

East Flatbush Litter - #SaveACritter   

Watch ​on Vimeo->

Your tax-deductible donation supports innovation,
education, and inspiration to achieve more zero waste grassroots-led victories!

read THE LATEST  here ->

In the News!

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Ecowatch:
Ditch Plastic Lunches: Stand Up for Zero-Waste Schools
Marcus Eriksen, Nov. 20, 2017

(excerpts)
Styrene likely isn't good for our children's bodies either. There are several studies that show styrene can migrate from packaging to food. But what of the multi-year, daily exposures children have to polystyrene products in the cafeteria? Debby Lee Cohen, executive director and founder of Cafeteria Culture, explained "Yet the long term effects of hot food served daily to children, directly onto trays made of the chemical styrene—sometimes 3 times per day and over a 13-year period—has yet to be studied." Hint to future researchers, there's a PhD thesis in evaluating the K-12 styrene exposure experiment underway on millions of U.S. kids...
​
Cafeteria Culture has launched "Sort2Save," a tool kit for schools to go zero waste, with a step-by-step guide to get it done. Can you hear the school bell ringing? It's time to practice what we teach.

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Virgin Airlines blog features Cafeteria Culture

Every day, “Cafeteria Rangers” appointed from the student body oversee the post-lunch recycling and sorting of food scraps and packaging. While learning about recycling and sorting, the students also practise communication and leadership skills, and design arts and media based advocacy campaigns, such as giant puppets and video shorts. (read more ->)

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Accolades!

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PS/MS34 M - Cafcu students
presented to delegates from China

The US State Department and the US EPA invited Cafeteria Culture and our students to present to delegates from China on community-based, upstream solutions to reduce plastic street litter, which contributes to a rapidly increasing global marine pollution plight.

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Cafeteria Culture at the
United Nations

Cafeteria Culture Executive Director, Debby Lee Cohen (top) and Media Director, Atsuko Quirk (bottom) presented at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC in June as part of the 17th Meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP-17) - Marine Debris, Plastics and Microplastics.

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CafCu Kids in HBO series,  
"SAVING MY TOMORROW" 

PS 34 M students, CafCu ARTS+ACTION alum, interview Pharrell Williams for HBO.

Stay up to date

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Tweets by @CafeteriaCu

FOLLOW US!

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JAPAN - ZERO WASTE INSPIRATION

SCHOOL LUNCH IN JAPAN
directed by Atsuko Quirk,
CafCu's Media Director
17 MILLION VIEWS ​
​on YouTube!

WATCH MORE CAFCU MOVIES ->

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION