Our Mission
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Cafeteria Culture (CafCu) is working creatively to achieve zero waste schools and climate smart communities through education, arts, media and action. About CafCu, founded in 2009 as Styrofoam Out of Schools (SOSnyc), catalyzed New York City’s decision to completely eliminate 860,000 polystyrene (styrofoam) trays used per day in schools. This sparked a 6-city agreement for collectively purchasing compostable plates, driving down the cost of alternatives. As of September 2015, half a BILLION toxic and polluting styrofoam trays used per year have been diverted from landfills, incinerators and student meals in the 6 largest U.S. urban school districts. In collaboration with our public school partners, CafCu also played a major grassroots role in ensuring the NYC Council unanimous vote to ban Styrofoam citywide and the NYC Council vote to place a 5 cent fee on single-use bags.
CafCu achieved these amazing victories by working creatively and collaboratively with government, other environmental organizations, and entire school communities, including students, who are our key partners in change! Soon after initiating the Styrofoam Out of Schools campaign, it became clear that there was an urgent need to innovate environmental education and inspire school-wide engagement in order to achieve the city’s solid waste reduction goals. A key component of our work is leading our cutting edge environmental education in schools, including the ARTS+ACTION Zero Waste School and Community Arts+Media for TRASH FREE WATERS prorgams. We have taught over 6,000 pre-k -12th grade students from 16 NYC public schools, located primarily in low-income communities of color. We teach the “why” before the “how” and empower students with hands-on leadership roles in the cafeteria, school, and neighboring communities. |
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mail your check to: Cafeteria Culture c/o Fund for the City of New York 121 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor New York, NY 10013- 1590 Attention: Fahmida Alam (Please write "Cafeteria Culture" in the memo line.)  |
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Students learn the skills of collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking, and participatory democracy, then engage local, national, and international audiences with their creative and informed youth-made messages and videos.
Cafeteria Culture also teaches creative storytelling through the visual arts, performing arts, and video production that is supported with citizen science and civic engagement activites. Our school programs give underserved New York City youth a voice on urgent environmental issues. |
PS15 K 5th graders workshop built masks and wrote skits to engage their community on plastic litter and TRASH FREE WATERS
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VISION We envision a zero waste future where landfill and incinerator garbage as we know it no longer exists; where post consumption waste from food to packaging is drastically reduced and what remains benefits our schools, communities, and the environment. Since 2012, our unique “ARTS+ACTION Zero Waste School” program has been key to our work and success. We have taught the program as a demonstration project to over 6,000 pre K-12th grade students from 14 NYC schools, located primarily in low income communities of color. We teach the "why" before the "how,” then empower students with hands-on leadership roles as Cafeteria Rangers.
The parallel program component is an interdisciplinary "Make Change Messaging" curriculum. Students become the schools’ change-makers, designing arts-based advocacy campaigns to engage communities on the links between garbage, environmental justice, and climate change. These student led campaigns heighten community awareness and interest on the issues of NYC garbage, plastic pollution, climate change, and environmental justice. CafCu's SORT 2 SAVE KIT is a free and easy to use multimedia toolkit for NYC schools - to support the NYC's zero waste goals. More details on our history here -> |
The new compostable plate - now in all 1,800 NYC public schools, as well as in the 5 other Urban School Food Alliance cities: LA, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, and Orlando.
PS 221 Brooklyn, Cafeteria Rangers in action!
PS 34 M - ARTS+ACTION 5th graders with NY City Council Members and environmental leaders speaking on why styrofoam should be banned; NY City Hall, November, 2013.
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Watch all our videos on YouTube here->
PS 20 M - ARTS+ACTION - Make Change Messaging with 2nd grade class, constructing a giant polar bear puppet from used foam trays.
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MS 246 Brooklyn, 8th graders interviewing neighbors about litter and environmental justice, East Flatbush, 2014.
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PS 34 M 5th graders celebrating the end of NYC school polystyrene era and NYC's zero waste goals, Union Square, June 2015
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Awards
UL Innovative Education Award
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Environmental Quality Award
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NYC Green Festival Community Award
1st place!
Cafeteria Culture accepting the 1st place award at the NYC Green Festival, Jacob Javits Center, April 2015.
