Otsego students share their lunches with less fortunate — every school day

A student’s bright idea, adults willing to help, and a simple tweak in the student lunch system has, since January, sent more than 500 pounds of fresh produce bound for the garbage to a Southwest Michigan food pantry instead.

What’s happening: A provision of Michigan School Meals program, which funds public schools’ free lunch program, requires that fresh fruits or vegetables be offered with each student lunch — a system that benefits food producers and assures students have an opportunity to eat fresh, healthy food every day. But Otsego High School senior Lexi Gross noticed that many of her fellow students weren’t actually eating the fresh produce, instead tossing them straight into the trash bin.

“This past fall, I noticed there was a LOT of uneaten fruit in the garbage at lunchtime,” Lexi says. “It didn’t sit right with me that there were people just miles away who would benefit from the food that was being wasted every day. “

So, she began to brainstorm ways to get the fruit into the hands of people who need it, and approached Christian Neighbors, an Allegan County food pantry.

Otsego Public SchoolsNow “if a student does not eat their fruit,” she says, “they can place it in a basket on the Share Table, rather than in the garbage.” 

State guidelines allow prepackaged items, such as muffins or string cheese, to be shared as well, but for now, Otsego’s sharing focuses on fresh fruit.

“It’s definitely a welcome addition, and she brings plenty,” says Amy VanPutten, food program director at Christian Neighbors. “In the summertime, fresh produce is a little bit more abundant because people bring things from their gardens. Fresh produce is something that we always are happy to have, and it can be expensive for our clients to purchase.”

VanPutten says the donation of fresh fruit also helps the food pantry conserve resources. “Normally we give out canned fruit,” she explains, “so by being able to give out the fresh, it helps us save on some cost.”

The back story: As a freshman, Lexi joined a new group at Otsego High School, the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. Student volunteers regularly meet with Otsego’s Public School Superintendent Jeff Haase to make the school a better place by sharing the students’ perspective and voice.  Students are encouraged to share ideas. “We’ve learned that an idea is just an idea until you put some work behind it to implement the change,” Lexi says.

She has remained active with the group for all four years of high school, and this year is its co-president. Her first idea to curb waste was simply to allow students to say no thanks to the fruit being offered every day. Haase helped her connect with Julie Guthrie, the school’s food service coordinator, who explained the requirement that a fresh fruit or a vegetable be offered with each student lunch.
 
Once students take the item, though, if they decide they don’t want to eat it, there’s nothing to stop them from re-gifting to the sharing table. The items on the sharing table are free for other students to take whether or not they’ve eaten their own lunches. Guthrie also helped create the connection with Christian Neighbors, to receive the foods that still remain after students have taken what they want from the Share Table.

Now, two or three times a week, Lexi delivers the food to Christian Neighbors, about 90 -150 pounds each week. “She comes here, like two or three times a week with probably two milk crates full,” Van Putten says.

What’s next: “The Share Table is just getting started,” Lexi says, “but I’m excited about sharing that food with people in need.  I’m thankful to go to a school where the superintendent cares about the students enough to encourage and empower them, and where the food service staff, students, and administration were all willing to help ... We’re reducing waste and helping those in need.” 

Van Putten hopes other food pantries and schools around the state may try the same arrangement. “I love it, and I think she's a wonderful example of what you can do — not just sit idly by and watch. She just saw this, saw the need, and saw that things were being wasted, and she did something about it.”

Lexi is equally enthusiastic about the sharing table’s success. “My community is important to me because I want to do my part to improve things where I can,” she says. “The response from OHS students has been heartwarming. “

Rosemary Parker has worked as a writer and editor for more than 40 years. She is a regular contributor to Rural Innovation Exchange and other Issue Media Group publications.