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  • MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
    • MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
    • Host a screening
    • The Plastic Pollution Crisis
    • Creative Team and Credits
    • Movie Feedback
  • Plastic Free Lunch
    • Plastic Free Lunch
    • FAQs - Plastic Free Lunch Day
    • PFLD School Food Service
    • Action Plan ideas - PFLD
    • NYC Plastic Free Lunch Days
  • Take Action Toolkits
    • K-12 Toolkit - Plastic Free Lunch Day
    • K-12 Toolkit - Microplastic Madness
    • DIY DATA ACTION litter cleanup >
      • DATA +ACTION litter clean up
      • Student and Teacher Litter Data Collection
    • SORT2SAVE KIT >
      • SORT2SAVE KIT - Cafeteria Rangers
      • Downloads - S2S - Cafeteria Rangers
      • Daily Operations - S2S - Cafeteria Rangers
      • Videos - Cafeteria Rangers
      • S2s Quick Launch Guide
      • Job Descriptions for Cafeteria Rangers
      • SORT2save Cheer! - lyrics + video
      • SORT2SAVE - About, Partners, License Agreement
    • Foam Trays Out of Schools >
      • NYC Foam Ban
      • Trayless Tuesdays
      • No-Styro Puppets
      • FAQs - Getting Styrofoam Out of Schools
    • Alternative Messaging
    • Action at home
    • Action on Policy >
      • Plastic Water Bottle ban NYC
      • NY Bag Bill
  • Donate
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  • MORE RESOURCES
    • Resource Library
    • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Taiwan - Lessons Learned
  • Events
  • Latest - Cafeteria Culture blog
  • Volunteer
Cafeteria Culture
  • About
    • About
    • Team
    • Our Story
    • Reports
    • Press
    • Partners
    • Contact
  • MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
    • MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
    • Host a screening
    • The Plastic Pollution Crisis
    • Creative Team and Credits
    • Movie Feedback
  • Plastic Free Lunch
    • Plastic Free Lunch
    • FAQs - Plastic Free Lunch Day
    • PFLD School Food Service
    • Action Plan ideas - PFLD
    • NYC Plastic Free Lunch Days
  • Take Action Toolkits
    • K-12 Toolkit - Plastic Free Lunch Day
    • K-12 Toolkit - Microplastic Madness
    • DIY DATA ACTION litter cleanup >
      • DATA +ACTION litter clean up
      • Student and Teacher Litter Data Collection
    • SORT2SAVE KIT >
      • SORT2SAVE KIT - Cafeteria Rangers
      • Downloads - S2S - Cafeteria Rangers
      • Daily Operations - S2S - Cafeteria Rangers
      • Videos - Cafeteria Rangers
      • S2s Quick Launch Guide
      • Job Descriptions for Cafeteria Rangers
      • SORT2save Cheer! - lyrics + video
      • SORT2SAVE - About, Partners, License Agreement
    • Foam Trays Out of Schools >
      • NYC Foam Ban
      • Trayless Tuesdays
      • No-Styro Puppets
      • FAQs - Getting Styrofoam Out of Schools
    • Alternative Messaging
    • Action at home
    • Action on Policy >
      • Plastic Water Bottle ban NYC
      • NY Bag Bill
  • Donate
  • Youth Advocates Program
  • MORE RESOURCES
    • Resource Library
    • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Taiwan - Lessons Learned
  • Events
  • Latest - Cafeteria Culture blog
  • Volunteer

Our New Report is Now Live! - Visit our report page

Check out our new report! Cafeteria Culture’s School Cafeteria Waste Reduction Interventions for Climate Smart School Food Service based on our project at PS 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NYC showcases the power of student leadership in driving environmental change. From January 2022 to December 2023, students at PS 15 co-designed innovative interventions, reducing both food waste and single-use plastics. Most significantly, the report identifies a crucial link between plastic and food waste: reducing one can directly lead to a reduction in the other. These findings informed our work to scale these models. The report includes recommendations to NYC Public Schools and USDA.
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Debby Lee Cohen (1959 - 2024) 
It is with heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved Executive Director and Founder,
​Debby Lee Cohen.  
You can read Cafeteria Culture's tribute here.
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PLASTIC FREE LUNCH DAY
Next Plastic Free Lunch Day - April 21st ~ April 25, 2025!

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Plastic Free Lunch Day was ​started by students in Cafeteria Culture's program at PS 15 in Brooklyn!
​
Join schools across the US to take climate action! ->
​For NYC schools. monthly PFLD guide ->
​
​

​​Plastic Free Lunch Day, K-12 free Resources ->
​
Why #plasticfreelunch ?
Plastic production, use, and disposal
​ threatens human health and the environment.
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MICROPLASTIC MADNESS

Cafeteria Culture's award-winning, feature-length documentary centers student actions on plastic pollution
​that morph into extraordinary leadership and scalable victories.
​More about the movie->
​>120,000 viewers in 45 countries! (see the map->) 
​Watch trailer on YouTube ->/ Watch on Vimeo ->​
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​LIMITED TIME for EVERYONE!!!
September 9 through November 30, 2024

WATCH MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
for FREE!!
SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE LINK!
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TOOLKITS


CLICK HERE to learn more about
​MICROPLASTIC MADNESS TOOLKIT
data + action lessons and activities for grades 3-12
PLUS: our movie companion guides, games, and more!
​​
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Environmental Justice Unit Lesson Plans
​
JUST ADDED!
​
​CLICK HERE for your FREE
PLASTIC FREE LUNCH DAY TOOLKIT
 
​data + action lessons and activities for grades K-12
PLUS: flyers, letter templates, Easy Start Guide and more!  --->
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Want to get ready for Plastic Free Lunch Day?
Use our EASY START guide!
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PLASTIC POLLUTION RESOURCES

Read and share our short reports, videos, and the latest information
​about the plastic pollution crisis to inform decision-makers!
Resource LibraryCLICK HERE
for our SHORT REPORTS and VIDEOS

to learn about the plastic toll on human health and our systems
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CLICK HERE
to learn more about
the PLASTIC POLLUTION CRISIS
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CAFCU YOUTH ADVOCATES

​LISTEN TO YOUTH!
CafCu Youth Advocates are focused on plastic-free and climate justice action.
The CafCu team mentors middle, high school, and college age youth, many whom are alumni of our school programs.​
Click here to learn more about CafCu's Youth Advocates -->
Girls Justice Podcast!
Cafcu Media · Girls Justice Podcast
Created by 5th grade girls in collaboration with our partner org,
​Lower Eastside Girls Club! (fall/winter 2022)

NYC YOUTH CLIMATE STRIKE, 2019  
 ​Rebeca Sabnam, CafCu Youth Advocate,
 at the Youth #ClimateStrike​NYC ​

High School Youth Advocates Podcast series
Cafcu Media · Youth Activists Cafe - Podcast #1 - White Washing of the Climate Movement - Rebeca & Megan
Youth Pov on climate, racial justice. human rights, policy, public school & more!
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CAFCU YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Educators across the US and the world are using our movies and toolkits!
TRASH FREE WATERS local action, global impact
40 videos, 73K subscribers & 36 million views!
Teach students
​how to collect local data to inform policy!

Watch our new YouTube Series
Plastic Free Friendship
​​​
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​Service Learning in the cafeteria!
Students take on cafeteria leadership roles 
​to reduce school cafeteria
food & packaging waste.​

​Watch on Youtube ->; Watch on Vimeo ->​​
Start your
cafeteria waste reduction journey!
SUBSCRIBE

more CafCu:
​Plastic Free Education & Action Videos ->

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CAFCU YOUTH-LED VICTORIES

​ STYROFOAM OUT OF SCHOOLS
NYC + 15 large school districts did it.
​  ​Your school can too!

school food compostable plate. NYC + Urban School Food Alliance
​Cafeteria Culture's 
STYROFOAM OUT OF SCHOOLS campaign
catalyzed the complete elimination
of plastic foam trays from NYC schools,
leading to a co-purchasing agreement with
the largest US urban school districts,
diverting 1/2  a BILLION foam trays per year 
from landfills, incinerators, and student meals! 
​
CafCu's 5th grade students take action
to ban plastic foam in NYC!
​ Youth Rally To Ban Foam  at NY City Hall,
judge announces NYC foam ban can move forward (2018)
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Youth Rally to Ban Foam: PS 15 K students & polluting polystyrene foam (styrofoam) collected at Jamaica Bay, NYC

Student Action
New York Plastic Bag Ban
CafCu students collected litter + data,
debated issues, engaged Council Members,
educated neighbors & gave out thousands of reusable bags  more ->

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Shahzia, Rachel, Nerlande & Taina, 8th graders, MS 246 Walt Whitman, at NY City Hall with Council Member Brad Lander, speaking on plastic litter. (2016)
NYC Bag Bill Rally - NEST 3rd graders
NEST+m 3rd graders at New York City Hall Bag Bill Rally, April 2016

​PS34M 5th grade students leading on the NYC bag bill ⬇︎

Watch on Youtube -> ; Watch on Vimeo ->

​Please donate today for innovative
zero waste, climate education! Your tax-deductible donation supports innovative
zero waste, plastic free, and climate education, ​
in under-resourced schools.

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Follow us!

​WATCH ALL OUR VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE here->
​WATCH ALL OUR VIDEOS ON VIMEO here ->
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Cafeteria Culture Mission
Working creatively with youth to achieve equitable zero-waste, 
​climate-smart school communities,
​and a plastic free biosphere,

merging citizen science, civic action, media and the arts!

​
DONATE | ABOUT |MICROPLASTIC MADNESS|PLASTIC FREE LUNCH| Take Action Toolkits|EVENTS
Youth Advocates |Contact 
​
​  Twitter @CafeteriaCu    IG @CafCu   FB CafeteriaCulture   TikTok @CafeteriaCu

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 501(c)(3) organization.
As such, your 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 © 2023 Cafeteria Culture
  • About
    • About
    • Team
    • Our Story
    • Reports
    • Press
    • Partners
    • Contact
  • MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
    • MICROPLASTIC MADNESS
    • Host a screening
    • The Plastic Pollution Crisis
    • Creative Team and Credits
    • Movie Feedback
  • Plastic Free Lunch
    • Plastic Free Lunch
    • FAQs - Plastic Free Lunch Day
    • PFLD School Food Service
    • Action Plan ideas - PFLD
    • NYC Plastic Free Lunch Days
  • Take Action Toolkits
    • K-12 Toolkit - Plastic Free Lunch Day
    • K-12 Toolkit - Microplastic Madness
    • DIY DATA ACTION litter cleanup >
      • DATA +ACTION litter clean up
      • Student and Teacher Litter Data Collection
    • SORT2SAVE KIT >
      • SORT2SAVE KIT - Cafeteria Rangers
      • Downloads - S2S - Cafeteria Rangers
      • Daily Operations - S2S - Cafeteria Rangers
      • Videos - Cafeteria Rangers
      • S2s Quick Launch Guide
      • Job Descriptions for Cafeteria Rangers
      • SORT2save Cheer! - lyrics + video
      • SORT2SAVE - About, Partners, License Agreement
    • Foam Trays Out of Schools >
      • NYC Foam Ban
      • Trayless Tuesdays
      • No-Styro Puppets
      • FAQs - Getting Styrofoam Out of Schools
    • Alternative Messaging
    • Action at home
    • Action on Policy >
      • Plastic Water Bottle ban NYC
      • NY Bag Bill
  • Donate
  • Youth Advocates Program
  • MORE RESOURCES
    • Resource Library
    • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Taiwan - Lessons Learned
  • Events
  • Latest - Cafeteria Culture blog
  • Volunteer