Working creatively with youth to achieve zero waste, climate-smart communities and a plastic free biosphere.
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Take climate action in your cafeteria!
Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture
Started by students!
Join the action!
**Reduce plastic waste 
from school, home, and store-bought lunch.


​#plasticfreelunch
It's possible!

Plastic Free Lunch Day PS 188 M

What is Plastic Free Lunch Day?

- A day when school lunch is prepared without plastic!
- A step towards eliminating all cafeteria  single-use plastic
.
- An action day to reduce as much plastic as possible,
- A campaign to dramatically reduce plastic use in all schools
​

News 12 -
May 16, 2022,  Plastic Free Lunch Day at NYC Schools
New York City, May 16, 2022
School
 lunches were prepared without plastic 
in over 750 NYC elementary schools!

Cafeteria Culture in partnership with NYC Department of Education
Office of Food and Nutrition Services & Office of Sustainability,
​and students l
ed this first New York City-wide 
Plastic Free Lunch Day.
It's a VICTORY!

Press Release ->
​
What's next?
Ideas from students:
  • Plastic Free Lunch Day every day!
  • Plastic Free Lunch Day for the entire USA!​
What can you do at your school toDAY?
Ask your school food manager to:
  • Provide dressings & condiments in bulk rather that in individual packages 
  • Make all pizza menus days plastic-free 
  • Wrap sandwiches in bulk rather that individually every day
  • Utensils "by request only" every day
  • Burger and burrito days - plastic free days too!

Lead a plastic free campaign to:
  • Encourage plastic-free home and store bought lunch -make signs & educate
  • Promote reusables & refillables -  a "Bring Your Own" campaign for water bottles, utensils, napkins, and more​
Scroll down for more action ideas ⬇︎ ​
 
​See how NYC schools prepared for the day!


Lead a Plastic Free Lunch Day or Action

Get started
STEP 1: LEARN ABOUT THE PLASTIC POLLUTION PROBLEM!
​- Host A SCREENING OF 
MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
  • Watch the movie trailer.
  • Sign up to host your screening.​​

Special movie screening offers for ALL K-12 schools
-
Free for all NYC public schools all of May 2022 
- Fee Waiver for any public school outside of NYC that commits to
leading a Plastic Free Lunch Day during May 2022
​
  • ​​​Watch the movie (76 minutes) with your class, Green Team, club or entire school and inspire action! Choose to screen the movie in 2, 3, or 5 parts, or show the entire movie at once.
  • Receive our free Movie Companion Guide & Discussion Questions.​
Step 2: STUDENTS, TAKE plastic-free action
 We suggest starting with Data Collection!
(SCROLL DOWN to "RESOURCES" to view & download all PDFs) 
​
Cafeteria Plastic SEARCH (Individual student activity, Observation)
  • Lesson Plan and Worksheet for one lunch period in the cafeteria or  classroom (minimal prep required).

Cafeteria Plastic SURVEY - a waste audit, group activity for a class, team or club)
  • Cafeteria Plastic SURVEY - DATA COLLECTION How-To 
​ and
  • DATA COLLECTION Sheet 

Plastic Free ACTIONS at school
Not a NYC school?
  • Meet with your principal and school food manager to request a Plastic Free Lunch Day at your school.
For all schools:
  • Build a campaign to inform your school community about the plastic pollution problem and to persuade your community to reduce single-use plastics.
  • Meet with your principal & school food manager to discuss plastic reduction, such as:
           - get rid of condiment packets (use refillable bottles) 
           - organiza a 
    Bring-Your-Own utensil day
           - organize
    a day to get rid of one specific plastic item (like "No Plastic Straw Day")
  • Host a school-wide or community screening of our award winning movie, MICROPLASTIC MADNESS.​

Step 3: partner with us on plastic free action.
 - It's easy. Share Photos, Data, Actions!
ALL SCHOOLS:
1- SHARE YOUR PHOTOS 
  • Before and After* Plastic Free Lunch Day, take photos of your plastic waste and SHARE to inspire others. 
  • Before and After any plastic reduction action, take photos of your plastic waste or recycling or compost (or all of them) and SHARE to inspire others.
PHOTO HOW-TO: Take the photos at the end of a lunch period or all lunch periods.  Position the camera above each cafeteria trash, recycling, and compost bin so all items can be clearly seen. (If your school does not have Organics Collection, we still want to see the contents of all the other bins).

("After" means the day-of PLASTIC FREE LUNCH or another plastic reduction day, at the end of the lunch period)
   
2 -
SHARE YOUR DATA. 
Before and After Plastic Free Lunch Day, collect plastic data and SHARE to inspire others.  Upload here->


We especially need your DATA and PHOTOS from a lunch day before May 16th and from the day of May 16th, or your school's PLASTIC FREE LUNCH DAY.

3.  SHARE OTHER ACTION PHOTOS & DATA. 
Inspire others with your plastic free actions!  See suggestions below. 
 Upload here->

4. STUDENTS, SHARE social media posts, videos, and posters and other examples to inspire others.
-----
Upload ALL PHOTOS AND DATA SURVEY SHEETS here ->


THANK YOU!  Your shared photos and data sheets will be used by the Cafeteria Culture team to inform policy makers and accelerate change.
​Why bother for just one day?
  • One action leads to more action!
  • Your school community can see what change looks like. 
  • A collective action builds community and creates a we-can-do mentality.
  • Students can collect before and after data/photos and use them to inform and persuade.
  • A collective action creates joy and relieves climate-anxiety.
​Easy Plastic Free Lunch actions
NO PLASTIC ______ DAY!
Simplify the day with a focus on reducing just one kind of single-use plastic packaging, such as a:
-  NO PLASTIC STRAW DAY  (more ideas for reducing plastic straws ->)
-  NO CONDIMENT PACKET DAY - ask your school food manager if they can serve condiments in refillable containers or dispensers.

We suggest always starting with a before
 survey (or audit). 
Example: the steps for a "NO PLASTIC STRAW DAY":
 - 1 - Set out a box and sign  to collect all the plastic straws used ruing one lunch period or during all school lunch periods.
 - 2 - Count the straws and photograph all the straws (lay them out on a dark background).
 - 3 - Publicize the number of straws collected on that one day and the date of your NO PLASTIC STRAW DAY" 
 - 4 - On the day of the initiative, once again collect any plastic straws and photograph

 - 5 - Make posters with the 'before" and "after" data and photos 
 - 6 - Interview students and staff to find out what others suggest to do next to reduce single-use plastics and other packaging.
BRING YOUR OWN ______ DAY!
- BRING YOUR OWN FORK (and napkin) DAY
- BRING YOUR CUP or REUSABLE BOTTLE DAY
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From the movie, "Microplastic Madness"
TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU NEED - communication 
- Make creative signage to encourage plastic waste reduction or use the flyer provided below; place near dispensers.
- Ask teachers to remind students just before lunch.
- Make announcements!
- Lead a before count of plastic utensils thrown away on a single day, start your campaign, then do an after count. Compare and publicize results.
PROMOTE A REUSE CULTURE - EVERYDAY!
Ask your food service manager to:
-  Offer plastic utensils by request only on days when pizza, burritos, and other hand-held foods are served. Salad bars can be stocked with cut vegetables.
- Serve all condiments and sauces in reusable dispensers or bottles.
- If your meals come packaged with the utensils, ask to try a new method of offering utensils.
- If your utensils and napkins come together in plastic wrap, ask for individual utensils and napkins!

GRATITUDE DAY!
"Thank your kitchen and custodial staff and school cafeteria aides!
- Hang up special "thank you' posters in the cafeteria with staff names.
- Encourage students to say "please" and "thank you" in the food line.
- Make a special "thank you" announcement at the end of the lunch period and invite kitchen and custodial staff to join you!
- Thank kitchen and custodial staff during school assemblies and recognize the work they do for the school community.


Showing gratitude supports positive change-making and builds community!  For inspiration, show our video, "School  Lunch in Japan- it's not just about eating" (34 million views on YouTube!)

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More PLASTIC FREE ACTIONS for school, work, and COmmunity!
  • Hold a fundraiser to buy reusable bottles or utensils for all students.
  • Create an education campaign to promote reduction of single-use plastics and reusables for home and store bought lunches.
  • Create an education campaign focused on reducing a specific single-use plastic item and offer solutions.
  • Create a utensil/packet/straw "by request only" action;  meet with your principal and school food manager to ask that these plastic items not be given out automatically. Create signs and an information campaign.  (see signs below in "Resource" section or make your own and share with us)
  • Conduct a survey of plastic waste or street/beach litter at  school/work/community to inform & persuade. (use our "DIY: DATA +ACTION litter clean up" guide!)
  • Create banners, posters or flyers about single use plastics to inform students, school staff and community to #uselessplastic.
  • Create an art installation or giant puppets using single use plastics as 3 dimensional data to inform & persuade.
  • Learn about local/state plastic-reduction bills/proposals and ask to meet with your local and state legislators to inform & persuade. Sharing your data helps! (find some NY and US bills ->)
  • Start planning now for a Fall 2022 Plastic Free Lunch Day!
  • Lead  a "Write a Letter to the Editor" campaign or teach a lesson with our guidelines.
  • Write a letter to your principal, school food manager, and school board to request future Plastic Free Lunch Days as regular weekly or monthly menu days! (see our Sample Letter to the  Principal ->)
⬇︎ Scroll down for all free downloadable resources ⬇︎
The Plastic Problem, Plastics and Health,
Survey & Search Sheets, Lessons, Flyers, Letter Templates,
and "Microplastic Madness" movie Screenings

​
Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture
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An award winning, uplifting documentary, starring Brooklyn's PS15 5th grade students, who started the first Plastic Free Lunch Day!
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See how 5th grade students led the first
NYC Plastic Free Lunch Day in their school
​
as documented in our award winning movie,
MICROPLASTIC MADNESS.
(watch the trailer & host a screening)
Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture
PS 15 Brooklyn 5th grade students in the movie, "Microplastic Madness"
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Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture

RESOURCES

Single-use Plastic
​Pollution Problem

Why we need #plasticfreelunch
The world is awash in toxic and polluting
single-use plastics

made from hazardous chemicals
and climate-damaging fossil fuels. 
380 million metric tons of plastic are produced each year.
US plastic recycling rate has dropped below 6%!
1o reasons to take plastic free, climate action 
  • Making & disposing of plastic is fueling the climate crisis.
  • Plastics are made from fossil fuels.
  • Plastics are the 5th largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Less than 6% of plastic is recycled in the US.
  • Plastic kills 100,000 marine animals every year.
  • The US creates more plastic waste than any other nation.
  • Plastic never goes away.  It degrades into tiny microplastics.
  • Scientists have found microplastics in the deepest parts of the ocean, and in our soil, food, water and air.
  • Recent studies have also found microplastics in our bodies: our gut, our tissues, our poop, our blood, the deepest parts of our lungs!
  • We are all eating and breathing microplastics.
What is a Single-Use Plastic and Why is it a Problem?
Each year, we produce over 350 million metric tons of plastic; more than 40% of this is single-use plastic--plastic packaging and foodware that is used for less than 20 minutes.  Because plastic is not recyclable, most discarded plastic is sent to landfills or "leaks" into the natural environment. 

Plastic does not biodegrade. Instead it breaks or fragments into small particles called microplastics and then into smaller particles called nanoplastics.  Because plastic is made from fossil fuels and thousands of persistent toxic chemicals, they transfer thousands of migrating chemicals into our food during use. After disposal and fragmentation, plastic particles carry and distribute these toxic chemicals to every inch of the globe. 

​Scientists have found micro and nanoplastics in our digestive tract, deep in our lung tissue, in the placenta, and circulating in our blood. Nanoplastics deliver thousands of toxic chemicals directly to the organs, tissues, and cells in our bodies. We now face the public health crisis of our time. 

School cafeterias serve over 40 million meals a day and make a large contribution to the plastic waste stream.  School cafeterias are a great place to begin reducing single-use plastics, while also protecting the health of our students--society's most vulnerable members. Plastic free lunch day is a first step that results in useful photos and data but, most importantly, it shows everyone that food-dispensing and eating does not require plastic!
​
Learn more about the Plastic Pollution Crisis,
and why we need urgent action->

​

Plastics and Health

COVID & PLASTIC FOODWARE
Getting push-back?:
​Download our PDF,

COVID & PLASTIC FOODWARE
Why Grab and Go Food Dispensing Methods
do not Prevent COVID-19 Transmission

PLASTIC IS A HAZARDOUS MATERIAL
How plastic is making us fat & sick
Plastic threatens human health in two ways:
(1) As a toxic food contact material that transfers chemicals into food, and (2) as toxic plastic particle pollution that enters our bodies.

Plastic packaging and foodware (bottles, plates, cups, utensils) are so common, we assume they are safe. But thousands of (mostly unknown and untested) toxic chemicals that make up plastic migrate (move) from plastics into our food and drink. Read more ->


Flyers, Survey & Search Sheets, Letter Templates
⬇︎View & Download⬇︎

Flyers
Print these or create your own!
Share your creations on social media and tag us
  Twitter @CafeteriaCu    IG @CafCu   FB CafeteriaCulture  TikTok @CafeteriaCu
#plasticfreelunch   #cafcu 

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For elementary schools, cups and utensils. Download the 2-page PDF ->
Plastic Free Lunch Day NYC DOE
For all schools. Download PDF >
Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture
For all schools. Download PDF ->
Plastic Free Lunch Day NYC
For all schools. Download PDF ->
MEASURE YOUR PLASTIC USE!
Conduct a Survey​

PLASTIC SEARCH (observation) - easy
- Individual student activity for lunch period with lesson plan
  • 2. Single-Use Plastic SEARCH- Lesson Plan   
​               ​(PDF, 3 pages, with Teacher Notes)
  • 2a. Single-Use Plastic SEARCH -Worksheet  
              (PDF, 1 page)
​
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Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture

PLASTIC SURVEY (or waste audit)
- Group Activity for class, small group, Green Team, or club
  • 3. DATA COLLECTION How To - Cafeteria Plastic SURVEY  
​         (PDF, 4 pages with photo examples and Terminology)
  • 3a. DATA COLLECTION Sheet Cafeteria Plastic SURVEY 
​              (PDF, 1 page)
  • 3b. Sample DATA COLLECTION Sheet - Cafeteria Plastic Survey   (PDF, 1 page)
Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture
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Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture
Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture
More: 
  • Sample Student Letter to Principal - requesting a Plastic Free Lunch Day ->
  • Sample School Letter to Families - about Plastic Free Lunch Day for NYC elementary schools ->​


Microplastic Madness, the movie!
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Screenings are free for all Title 1 or under-resourced schools; 
Free for all NYC DOE schools for all of May 2022
​see all options here->
Learn more about the movie ->
Be inspired by the 5th grade students
from PS 15 in Brooklyn, who started

Plastic Free Lunch Day! ⬇︎​
Judith Enck quote Microplastic Madness

Related news articles ​for classroom discussion
How Plastics Contribute to Climate Change - YALE CLIMATE CONNECTION, AUGUST 20, 2019
excerpt:
But critics say the marine impact of plastics is only part of the problem. “Plastic pollution is not just an oceans issue. It’s a climate issue and it’s a human health issue,” said Claire Arkin, communications coordinator for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, a global network aiming to reduce pollution and eliminate waste incineration.
Plastics have become essential components of products and packaging because they’re durable, lightweight, and cheap. But though they offer numerous benefits, plastics originate as fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases from cradle to grave, according to a May 2019 report called “Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet,” released by the Center for International Environmental Law, a nonprofit environmental law organization.
Plastic has a really big carbon Footprint --
But That Isn't The Whole Story 

Adapted from NPR July 2019 - for 5th grade 
"The key message that people should take away is that the plastics crisis is a climate crisis hiding in plain sight," Muffett says. 
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
U.S. plastics recycling rate slumps below 6 percent, analysis finds
​The washington Post, May 4, 2022
excerpt:
“The plastics industry must stop lying to the public about plastics recycling. It does not work, it never will work, and no amount of false advertising will change that,” said Judith Enck, who heads Beyond Plastics and served as a regional EPA administrator during the Obama administration. “Instead, we need consumer brand companies and governments to adopt policies that reduce the production, usage and disposal of plastics.”
Though plastics use fell in the early days of the pandemic, consumption has surged along with economic activity. Meanwhile, plastic waste exports — which the authors said are counted toward recycling numbers without proof — have plummeted in the wake of import bans by countries such as China and Turkey.
Deluge of plastic waste’: US is world’s biggest plastic polluter  The Guardian, December 1, 2021,
excerpt:​
At 42m metric tons of plastic waste a year, the US generates more waste than all EU countries combined.
The advent of cheap, versatile plastics has created “a global scale deluge of plastic waste seemingly everywhere we look”, the report states, with the US a leading contributor of disposable plastics that ends up entangling and choking marine life, harming ecosystems and bringing harmful pollution up through the food chain.
Chemical pollution has passed safe limit for humanity, say scientists  The Guardian, January 18, 2022
excerpt:
The cocktail of chemical pollution that pervades the planet now threatens the stability of global ecosystems upon which humanity depends, scientists have said.

Plastics are of particularly high concern, they said, along with 350,000 synthetic chemicals including pesticides, industrial compounds and antibiotics. Plastic pollution is now found from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans, and some toxic chemicals, such as PCBs, are long-lasting and widespread.
Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture

​Check out 
​More free Educational Resources
​
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 Watch our videos
on YouTube: ​CafCu Media
Watch "Kids Exercise Democracy, 5th graders testify at NYC Hall" (on Vimeo ->)
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Youth POV +action on climate, racial justice, human rights, policy, public school & more!

WHY CAFETERIA CULTURE?

Cafeteria Culture was founded as the grassroots STYROFOAM OUT OF SCHOOLS campaign in 2009. Students, parents and school food directors came together to find creative solutions to rid NYC school cafeterias of 850,000 styrofoam trays thrown away per day.

The result: VICTORY! Working together, we catalyzed the complete elimination of a half a BILLION styrofoam trays per year from incinerators, landfills and student meals in schools across the US.

Together, we can win this next environmental and health victory and dramatically decrease single-use plastics in school cafeterias everywhere!

Youth Rally to ban Foam - Cafeteria Culture
Youth Rally to Ban Foam, NY City Hall, 2018, as seen in "Microplastic Madness" Photo: Erik Mcgregor
Plastic Free Lunch Day - Cafeteria Culture
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​
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Our VISION
We envision a plastic free, equitable 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. 


Cafeteria Culture (CafCu) is a Project of The Fund for the City of New York, a charitable organization.
Founded in 2009 as Styrofoam Out of Schools.
Donations to Cafeteria Culture are eligible for charitable deductions under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Cafeteria Culture is a vendor of New York City Department of Education via Fund for the City of New York
Copyright © 2022 Cafeteria Culture