Why #plasticfreelunch ?
Plastic production, use, and disposal
​ threatens human health and the environment.

Resources for Educators

Get ready for Plastic Free Lunch Day
with a free screening of

watch trailer on YouTube ->/ watch on Vimeo ->
movie details  ->
​

Sign up for a free K-12 public school screening
​of Microplastic Madness ->

>70,000 viewers in 45 countries!
Free always for Title 1 & under-resourced schools!
subtitled & dubbed version available!

​In Japan? Host a screening ->
​マイクロプラスチック・ストーリー  〜ぼくらが作る2050年〜
Not a K-12 public school? Sign-up here ->

Be inspired by youth to
take #plasticfree action!

Learn about the #plasticpollution problem ->

free
​MICROPLASTIC MADNESS TOOLKIT
data + action lessons for grades 3-12
support student-led climate action
​
Guiding Questions,
​ Games, Activities --->
​

the PLASTIC POLLUTION PROBLEM ->

CafCu
​ Youth Advocates 
middle, high school & college age students

NYC YOUTH CLIMATE STRIKE, 2019  
 ​Rebeca Sabnam, 16 year old
CafCu Youth Advocate,
 at the Youth #ClimateStrikeNYC ​
​"Human greed is fueling our oceans with the power to wipe Bangladesh off the map. We’re almost out of time!"

​
LISTEN TO YOUTH!
​

Youth POV +action on climate,
racial justice, human rights,
policy, public school & more!

​
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More about Youth Advocates ->

Cafcu Youth Advocates 
leading the way
​
​ NYC Foam Ban goes into effect ->​

NYC Styrofoam Ban begins - students celebrate with Mayor and Commissioner from Cafeteria Culture on Vimeo.

more CafCu
:Plastic Free Education & Action Videos ->

Free Educational Resources
Plastic Free Lunch Day Resources ->
See them all ->

free TOOLKIT
for a plastic free future
 (grades 3 and up)
Teachers, sign up here

 Watch & be inspired to teach students
​how to use data to inform policy!

Watch "Kids Exercise Democracy" on Vimeo

Be inspired by NYC youth to
#BreakFreeFromPlastic
Watch & share "Got Reusable Bags..." 7th grade students in Flatbush

Watch: "Got Reusable Bags?" on Vimeo -> ; be inspired by 7th grade students from MS 246 Walt Whitman in Brooklyn! See more Movies.

Service Learning in the cafeteria!
Students take on cafeteria leadership roles 
​to reduce school cafeteria
food & packaging waste.

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

videos and free downloads ->

​​

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

Educators across the US and the world
are using our movies and toolkits
in classrooms, cafeterias, & in the community.

 CafCu Youth-led
Victories

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

​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 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)

Youth Rally to Ban Foam: PS 15 K students & polluting polystyrene foam (styrofoam) collected at Jamaica Bay, NYC

New York Bans Plastic Bags
For 5 years, CafCu students collected litter + data,
debated issues, engaged council members,
educated neighbors & gave out thousands of reusable bags 
. more ->

Shahzia, Rachel, Nerlande & Taina, 8th graders, MS 246 Walt Whitman, at NY City Hall with Council Member Brad Lander, speaking on plastic litter. (2016)

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 ->

New York State passes bag ban ->

Please donate today for
zero waste, climate education
for under-resourced schools

School Programs
Innovative environmental education
and youth-led action!

Community Arts+Media
for Plastic Free Waters ->

Middle School
PlasticFree Waters​ ->

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

Tokyo/NYC school
partnership programs

Watch on Vimeo->

Youth lead zero waste audits and outreach
to scale up plastic free initiatives.
A recipe for change!

​Towards Zero Waste

SCHOOL LUNCH IN JAPAN 
directed by Atsuko Quirk,
Cafeteria Culture Media Director
 34 MILLION VIEWS ​on YouTube!!

Cafeteria Rangers 
 & Make Change Messaging 

Watch on Youtube ->; Watch on Vimeo ->

WATCH MORE CAFCU MOVIES ->

Youth-made Impact Videos
(our Plastic Free Waters + Media school programs->)
more youth made videos on our YouTube channel ->

SUBSCRIBE

The Story of Aliana and Joe - plastic in fish?

Watch on YouTube; Watch ​on Vimeo->

Journey of Plastic Litter  

Watch on YouTube; Watch ​on Vimeo->

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

In the News

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​WNCY.org,  Morning Edition, April 2018
Cafeteria Rangers Are Learning How to Reduce School Waste  

"I like it because we're helping the universe and we're being responsible."

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

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“I’ve learned a lot of things, not just the cycle of Styrofoam and plastics,” Dalencour told the RHSR.  ​“I’ve also learned how to communicate with my peers better; I was kind of quiet, but it gave me a way to open up.”   (

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Accolades

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PS 15 Patrick F Daly 5th graders speak at the US EPA Region 2 on environmental justice and plastic pollution. (March, 2018)

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

The US State Department and EPA invited Cafeteria Culture and our students to present to delegates from China on community-based, upstream solutions to reduce plastic street litter.

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Cafeteria Culture at the
United Nations

Cafeteria Culture Executive Director, Debby Lee Cohen and Media Director, Atsuko Quirk present at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC 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.
​

Follow us!

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​WATCH ALL OUR VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE here->

​WATCH ALL OUR VIDEOS ON VIMEO here ->

Tweets by @CafeteriaCu

Stay up to date:

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Please make a tax deductible donation today!

Cafeteria Culture's 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!
(see our award winning movie, MicroplasticMadness..org) 

​CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION