New York City
Department of Education Schools
March 5, 2025
March 26, 2025
April 2nd, 2025
NYC Plastic Free Lunch Day!
Plastic Free Lunch Day is now a monthly menu day
in all NYC DOE elementary schools.
March 26, 2025
April 2nd, 2025
NYC Plastic Free Lunch Day!
Plastic Free Lunch Day is now a monthly menu day
in all NYC DOE elementary schools.
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Cafeteria Culture, in partnership with NYC DOE Office of Food & Nutrition Services & Office of Sustainability are keeping Plastic Free Lunch Days going! ON April 17, 2024, NYC will join large and small school districts across the country to reduce plastic packaging and plastic foodware from school food service. Be a part of this exciting national plastic-free action, started by 5th grade students at PS 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn! |
Elementary SchoolsElementary schools are automatically participating in Plastic Free Lunch Day (PFLD) with support of kitchen and cafeteria staff. Check out the DOE PK-8 menus. Lunches should be served without plastic packaging, a huge step towards reducing waste and taking climate action. Please thank your kitchen staff!
Use our free resources to promote NYC DOE monthly Plastic Free Lunch Days. Find posters, lesson plans, morning announcements, letter templates, and easy plastic waste audits.
Measure your plastic use and impact with a Plastic Waste Audit
We also suggest reaching out to your principal for support. |
K-12 Cafeteria Plastic Reduction Easy Implementations for one day & every day! The May 2022 New York Citywide PFLD showed that several easy school food service changes can result in cost savings (see our PFLD Cost-savings Report) Meet with your school food manager to ask for these changes:
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Announcements & Letter Templates
- Morning Announcements Template (for 5 days leading up to PFLD)
- NYC Letter template to Families for monthly Plastic Free Lunch Days (copy and adapt; for NYC DOE K-8 schools)
- NYC Letter SPANISH template to Families for monthly Plastic Free Lunch Days (copiar y adaptar)
Inspire your students with our award winning movie
watch the trailer ->
Middle & High Schools
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Middle and high schools kitchens have different types of meal service than elementary schools. You can still reduce the use of plastics by engaging both staff and students.
Here are some tips:
More ACTION PLAN IDEAS for PFLD -> |
Easy Plastic Free (Lunch) Actions for every day! 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 during 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 
From the movie, "Microplastic Madness"
lead a "TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU NEED Day"/ #SkipTheStuff
- Make creative signage to encourage plastic waste reduction or use the flyer provided (see PFLD Resources page) and 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!) 
More PLASTIC FREE ACTIONS for school, work, and COmmunity!
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Youth-led Action
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adapted from the work of Gauri Rastogi, high school senior and CafCu Youth Advocate and intern, based on her years of advocating to eliminate styrofoam trays from her school district in MIchigan.
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More Free Resources for K-12 ->
movies, morning announcements, letter templates, posters, lessons & activities
for teachers, administrators, staff, students, parents
Resources for School Food Service Teams -->
More Free Resources for K-12 ->
movies, morning announcements, letter templates, posters, lessons & activities
for teachers, administrators, staff, students, parents
Resources for School Food Service Teams -->
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Why Plastic Free Lunch Day?US Schools serve 7.35 billion meals annually. Those meals are packed with non-biodegradable Single-use plastics (SUPs) that make a significant contribution to the US plastic waste stream and the staggering global plastic pollution problem. Most of those SUPs end up in a landfill or environment.
Plastic Free Lunch Day provides students an opportunity to learn about plastic pollution and take meaningful plastic-reduction action. One plastic free day leads to another and creates a vision and actionable ideas to move forward equitably and sustainably. |
Start a #SkipTheStuff campaign
to reduce cafeteria single-use plastic every day!
Learn how students helped to get the NYC "SKip The Stuff" bill passed ->
Single-use Plastic Pollution Problem
in a snapshot
Why DO 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.
The US plastic recycling rate has dropped below 6%!
US Schools serve 7.35 billion meals annually. Those meals are packed with non-biodegradable Single-use plastics (SUPs) that make a significant contribution to the US plastic waste stream and the staggering global plastic pollution problem. Most of those SUPs end up in a landfill or environment.
Plastic Free Lunch Day provides students an opportunity to learn about plastic pollution and take meaningful plastic-reduction action. One plastic free day leads to another and creates a vision and actionable ideas to move forward equitably and sustainably.
380 million metric tons of plastic are produced each year.
The US plastic recycling rate has dropped below 6%!
US Schools serve 7.35 billion meals annually. Those meals are packed with non-biodegradable Single-use plastics (SUPs) that make a significant contribution to the US plastic waste stream and the staggering global plastic pollution problem. Most of those SUPs end up in a landfill or environment.
Plastic Free Lunch Day provides students an opportunity to learn about plastic pollution and take meaningful plastic-reduction action. One plastic free day leads to another and creates a vision and actionable ideas to move forward equitably and sustainably.
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 400 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!
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!