We are thrilled to announce that Cafeteria Culture was selected as a winner of the inaugural UL Innovative Education Award!  As a tier 2 winner, we received a $50,000 ward from  UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and NAAEE (North America Association for Environmental Education) to expand our ARTS+ACTION Program!!! We'll get to work closely with the incredible UL team and fellow grantees to make an even bigger impact in NYC schools and beyond!! 

A HUGE THANK YOU to UL and NAAEE!
The UL Innovative Education Award (ULIEA) is the first-of-its-kind initiative designed to invest in environmental and STEM education, sustainable communities, and youth empowerment and was open to nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Canada that serve to motivate K-12 students. Read more about the five winning organizations here ->. 
 
We could not have won this award without the support of our amazing partners and supporters!

WHY NOW?
This fall, NYC will be expanding the organics (aka compost) collection to include 700 or, roughly 40% of all NYC schools, across 3 boroughs! read more

THE CHALLENGE
It is particularly challenging for principals to allocate limited staff time towards initiating and maintaining new cafeteria procedure. Contaminated bins are all too common. Students and staff need inspiration!

SCHOOLS NEED TOOLS!
Our school programs empower students as leaders in the cafeteria, who oversee all recylcing, composting and proper sorting. "Sortin' It Out" - the music video is just the lead-in! We are close to completing more great videos, as part of our on-line TOOLKIT.

COST of our THROW AWAY CULTURE
NYC taxpayers spend $330 million per year to export garbage in gas sucking, carbon spewing trucks, that crisscross the city, first to waste transfer stations located primarily in low-income minority neighborhoods, then to out of state landfills and incinerators.

CLIMATE CONNECTION
The entire trash cycle contributes carbon and methane emissions to global warming. While the city is due to spend millions on constructing new waste transfer stations, only a small fraction of NYC tax dollars are spent on recycling and climate education.

CLIMATE LITERACY
Cafeteria Culture has been piloting cutting edge, interdisciplinary curriculum via our school programs. We believe that all NYC students, regardless of resources, should be climate literate!

CafCu's Edu-tainment media - made with and for NYC youth - can revolutionize the city's recycling and composting communication, while empowering minority youth as partners in creating climate-smart messaging.

CO-CREATING WITH YOUTH!
Youth drive trends, fearlessly pushing the limits of e-culture. CafCu's school programs are giving positive notice to youth as trend setters in a sustainability context and NYC is benefiting! 

WHY CAFETERIA CULTURE?
Our team collaboratively catalyzed Trayless Tuesday citywide and  more recently, new policies that will imminently rid all of NYC schools, along with the 5  largest US school districts, of 3 MILLION toxic and polluting styrene foam trays per day!

We have spent thousands of hours in school cafeterias across the city, collaboratively innovating, teaching, observing, and piloting new methods. We are the NYC school cafeteria waste reduction innovators!