Indiana School Packs Unused Food Into Take-Home Meals for Kids

Source: Steve Debenport / Getty

Indiana School District Packs Unused Food Into Take-Home Meals for Underserved Kids

A school district in Indiana is reportedly launching a program that would allow schools to package up catering leftovers and send them home with students in need.

According to U.S. News, a huge percentage of students enrolled in Indiana’s Elkhart School District receive free or discounted prices on cafeteria food during the school week. The resources provided ensure that the children don’t go hungry.

Thanks to a partnership created with Cultivate Culinary School & Catering and other food-service providers, the school district is launching a program to send students home with prepared but unserved food from the cafeteria & other local catering companies.

“Mostly, we rescue food that’s been made but never served by catering companies, large food service businesses, like the school system,” Cultivate’s Jim Conklin explained. “Over-preparing is just part of what happens. We take well-prepared food, combine it with other food and make individual frozen meals out if it.”

The pilot program will do a test run by giving 20 students eight meals every Friday to be taken home for the weekend.