Last school year, junior high and high school students in the Monroe Environmental Club began noticing that a lot of food waste ended up in the garbage after lunch. With that in mind, club members decided to conduct a survey of their peers to determine why this happened and what they could do to fix it.
After presenting their findings to the board of education, club members came up with a plan that not only keeps food out of our waste streams but also provides nourishment for our neighbors.
With the Food Share Program, students who purchase school meals can now opt to donate any unopened or unwanted food or drink to local food banks in our community.
“It is a great program and I am so proud of all the students that are involved and continue to be involved in this,” said Jessica Thornton, Environmental Club advisor and MHS intervention specialist.
After rolling the program out with great success at Monroe Junior High and Monroe High School at the end of the 2022-23 school year, the club decided to expand the program to also include students from Monroe Elementary beginning last week. Club members produced a video to help educate elementary students on what the program is and how it benefits both our local community and our world.
"The Food Share Program results from students recognizing issues in their community and having the drive and belief that they can make a difference," said JEE Foods Executive Director Levi Grimm. "We commend the students' work and were honored to play a role in helping the project come to life. Our team is thankful to the Monroe School District for empowering the next generation of community-oriented leaders."
JEE Foods, a student-powered food rescue organization founded in a Butler Tech/Ross High School classroom in 2018, is the organization that connected the Monroe Environmental Club with Bethany Church, the recipient of its donations.
Just one week into this year’s program, so much food had been gathered that donations had to be paused so more room could be made for storage. When volunteers from Bethany Church arrived last Friday to collect more than eight boxes of food, Monroe Varsity Football Coach Bob Mullins had to send over two players from the team for help with heavy lifting.
Donations are now picked up twice a week, an increase from last year’s weekly collection.
"On average, we are sharing our bounty with 150-180 people each week," said Bonnie Greenwood, administrator of God's Bounty Table at Bethany Church. "Every little bit that we are receiving is blessing a belly. Even food that is spoiled or unfit for consumption gets composted. We are super excited about the partnership with JEE and Monroe students to help us care for our community. We have seen God's hand in our ministry since its inception, and we marvel at the doors He opens for us!"
