001last week. It's all a blur. But in any event, so that was held, and we attracted over 300 participants, so that's. That's… that's awesome. And it consisted of teachers, students, staff, and other. Um, state, out-of-state stakeholders, uh, were able to tune in. Uh, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, um, has been working with PGCPS to train our teachers. on climate change education, and they have been supporting PGCPS teachers with field trips, um. This school year. I know, uh, Donald and James are. Uh, on the, uh, call, just in the event that you want to hear more about that. So, overall, um, you know, working with the Schmidt Center and, um. the academic side of the house, we have been able to include climate curriculum in a number of the, um. I'm sorry, climate change and a number
002of curriculums. And, um, that includes climate change and environmental justice. With regards to Priority Area 2, which is reducing our carbon footprint. I'm happy to announce that we were able to complete and submit grant applications. for the Maryland Energy Administration. uh, solo in schools was one of them. And we're hoping if we get those funds, we're hoping to use those for Hyesville Middle School and Drew Freeman. Uh, school as well, and… The amount that we applied for was $792, um. dollars, so keeping our fingers crossed about that. With regards to, uh, net zero grants. for the MEA decarbonization grant program. We applied for, uh, Brandywine. K through 8, in the amount of 1.2 million and some change. Field with elementary school, 529,000. And some change in Hyattsville Elementary School. So, all in all, um. There's
003a total of about $2.6 million, um. Of grant funds we applied for in November, so… Uh, keeping our fingers crossed, especially at a time where. Um, we all know that we have, um, budget challenges, so we're hoping that we will. be awarded those funds. It'll go a long way in helping us meet our goals. Next slide, please. Okay, so, um, with Party Area 3, which is committing to renewable energy sources. So, in addition to, obviously, building our new schools. solve already, and EV ready, and things like geothermal, we have a partnership agreement with AltaGas and the county. to purchase renewable energy from solar. Perenegotiated rates, so that's not fully executed yet, but we're in the process of doing that. Priority area 4, low-carbon school transportation. Here again, we are applying for… Um, and MEA, thanks
004MEA, for the electric schoolwork grant, and the deadline is, uh, the 26th, so that's around the corner. That's under development, and the amount that we're applying to for that particular grant is $1.6 million. And if we get that, we are hoping to, um… use those funds for charging stations at Crossland and Greenbelt bus slots. So, um, as you all know, I think we have a total of about 21 in hand, and we have. We're anticipating 8 additional school buses. And so, um, our issue is not the school buses, it's really the charging infrastructure, so… Um, this will go a long way in helping us to fund those two areas, North and South County. for those slots, and we plan to have about 8. Um… charging ports, and these are dual charging ports, so 8 is
005actually equal to 16 at each site for a total of about 32 stations. Next slide, please. Okay, so for Priority 5 and 6, like I said before, that's… that's our deep dive focus area, so, um, others on the team will be. Um, reporting on that after this report. And Miss Gillespie with the Department of Sustainable Resiliency, uh, Director Kirkland. And we have our guest presenter, Langley Park Civic Association, will provide a case study. Okay, so, uh, with priority area 7, which is climate-resilient land management, and this sort of crosses over to Priority Area 1. We are in preliminary discussions with the County Department of Environment. And they received a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust. Uh, to plant over 2,000 trees in various municipalities. But what they're asking for us, I guess, with the school
006system is to partner with us and to use our property. as, uh, sort of a nursery to plant these trees. Now. Um, if you guys… I'm not sure, you may not be familiar, but the Climate Action Plan requires we plant 5 million trees, I think, total. Um, over a set period of time. But, um, the issue with those trees is a lot of them come from far away North Carolina, very expensive, so the goal here with DOE is to try to plant these trees local, locally. And, um, so obviously we can save on costs from getting all these trees from South Carolina. And, uh, one of the things that we talked about was also using this opportunity as a training opportunity. So… Um, having our students gain access. Uh, to this… these nurseries, so that
007they can work with dairy staff. To help them be credentialed in various apprenticeship. opportunities. Now, I believe it's the, um… I think it's on the next bullet. So the blueprint requires a 45% goal. Uh, to have our students, 45% of students, uh, be. be, uh, college and career readiness, and. you know, that would be really awesome if we could have this program kick off and we were able to not only support locally grown trees, but also use it as a training ground for. Some of our students, including those in the CTE program, so that, um. We can help make a dent in our goal for college and career readiness in green fields. The next item, partner engagement events, um… So, um, I believe the last… doing, I guess, a month and a half ago, we
008talked about, um, the climate… the county executive climate leadership. summit, and so happy to report that that went well. Prince George's County was well represented at that event. I believe there were… I was told there was about 400 participants. Um, in that, uh, climate leadership event, and I just want to use this opportunity to say kudos to, um. our students, uh, our climate, I guess, PGCPS's climate leaders were awesome. They did an awesome job. in presenting and articulating the student voices. Yes, definitely kudos, and also wanted to say a special thanks to Ms. Beth Nowak, who helped to. Um, provide coaching and guidance to the team for that presentation. Now, I'm not going to show that here right now, but I do have the link. to the video, again, I like to put these live
009links because I know these meetings are. you can't really cover it all, but at the very bottom. Let me see if… well, I guess I can't do it on my end, because Micah's presenting. Never mind, but anyway, there is a link over there. For those who are interested, I was able to capture 12 minutes. of that video presentation, PGCPS student voices, so… feel free to click on that and enjoy the wonderful performance of our students who we're very, very proud of. Next slide, please. Is that the last one? I guess it is the last one. Okay, with that, I will stop there. Any questions? Alright, great, thank you so much, Director Morrison. Um, we can, um… take questions now. We'll spend… Um, we're on a little bit of a time crunch tonight, because we do
010have to end by 6, but I'll say, let's start with, um… Mm-hmm. Yeah. 7 minutes. questions, see how many questions there are, and I'll give some more time if more hands are up, but a few. A few hands to start if there's some questions. No? I don't… I don't… I don't see any questions… hands going up. All right. I figured maybe I'll just go ahead and ask this question. Um, thank you, Director Morrison, for that update. Real quick, just wanted to, um. Sure. ask for clarification, because I thought I heard at one point you say that the trees at the Chesapeake Bay, or that the Department of Education, or sorry, Department of Environment. Um, we're planning on planting, we're from North Carolina, but then I thought I heard also that you said that there was
011an opportunity to look at more local trees. Just wanted to see if you could clarify that. Thank you. Yeah. Sure. So, um, Department of Environment, the County Department of Environment. received a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust. Now. On a separate note, there is a requirement under the Climate Solutions Act to plant 5 million trees. But a lot of those trees, I'm told, are coming from South Carolina, or I guess the South in general, North and South Carolina. So, we have to think about paying for transport, and so on the other. So this way, we can have these trees grow locally. Now, of course, they're not going to grow overnight, so there's a process, you know, we probably wouldn't be able to utilize these trees until a couple years down the road, but the thinking
012is that we should try to grow these trees locally and give that… use us an opportunity for students to learn about. Or horticulture, botany, and how trees grow, so that's the goal, is if we can, you know. grow these trees locally and sort of grow them close to school sites, right, so that we can. have them be in close proximities for our students to have a learning opportunity. Does that clarify things? Yes, thank you so much. That's great to hear. Thank you. Okay. Sure. Um, thank you, Pamela, and I also just had one follow-up on the trees. Um, is the thinking that that's going to be primarily. Hmm. high school, because you mentioned the blueprint in career and college readiness, or is there also going to be opportunities at elementary and. Yeah. middle schools to
013try to do some of the native tree nursery work. So, as far as I know, it's going to be the high schools, because they're talking about having credentialing, um, I believe it's called… I'm trying to think of the acronym, it's industry… Um, because in the blueprint, it said, I think, 45% of students. should pursue these industrial credentialing. And I don't know if it's on the presentation, let me just check real quick. For that on here… Yeah, it's called Industry Recognized Credentials IRC. So that's what the blueprint states, is to have a goal for about at least 45% of the students. Be able to, um… pursue college and, uh… Career readiness. And it also supports upright Area 1, where we talk about, you know, establishing partnerships and. And trying to get our students to do internships
014with various partners as well, in green… in the green fields. Um, I will just note that even if the… this specific program is only for high school students. Mm-hmm. Certainly, it's the type of thing that any… any schools that are going after their green school status, whether for renewal or for new green schools, um, maybe there's things that we can do throughout the school system to. try to promote even a smaller scale, just teaching kids how they can start any type of plants. And create their own little nurseries on school grounds. Even if it's not within the specific scope of this program. Yeah. Yeah, I was gonna say, so, uh, for this particular program, um, that I was referring to. with, uh, DOE, Department of Environment, um, it's high school, but that's not to say
015we're not looking at. you know, the younger grades, because, you know, obviously we're working with various other schools, and. There's a lot of other folks, like DNR, who sort of are talking to us about potential opportunities for them, so we… it's just this particular program that I refer to is… is geared towards high schoolers. Understood, and thank you very much for the clarification. Alright. Donald? Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah. Donald, and then, uh, James, I saw your hand up, if you'd like to go after Donald. Oh. I was looking at my squeeze. Go ahead, uh-huh. Alright, thank you. Um, that sounds like a really awesome opportunity in terms of, um… Housing of plant material. on school grounds with the opportunity for students to engage. Do we know if there are specific, um, industry-recognized credentials in mind?
016Uh, for… for those opportunities. Not off the top. Now, I do know that if you go on, um… I think it's MSDE's site. They do have a list of potential credentialing, so yeah, so I know it's there. But, um, you know, and I guess a lot of these… the training will be provided, by the way. I guess DOE staff is what I'm told. in partnership with probably some others, you know, maybe with the Bay Trust or something of that nature, but yeah. There's a list song, I just don't have it. Yeah, that sounds like a… Yeah, like, a great opportunity, um, for them to pair. Go ahead. With, uh, DOE, or the organizations that are involved. Ah. Bye. Um, to get some real-time training as well, so… Yeah. That's the plan, so we're keeping our
017fingers crossed. We have… we do have to go through some, I guess, you know, you know how it is, paperwork. To make that happen, but hopefully… and they're looking to do it soon, really, they just… I think they just got the grant, maybe about a month. A month or so ago, so… and they reached out to us for this opportunity, so I think it's great. Um, James, I saw your hand pop up. Do you… or James Dubon Garcia, do you want to go? I also see James Roberson. Okay, great. Yeah, I just wanted to share something. Um, so just, like, going back as to what was mentioned, I, like, this program is mostly geared to high school students, but you know, just thinking about, you know, younger grades as well, like. I was in elementary
018school when I remember that, uh. my school got this, like, it was like a sort of. cylindrical, um… planter, where we would plant, you know, different flowers and tiny fruits and vegetables, stuff like that. And just, like, thinking… going back to that experience, like, that's one of the major things that contribute to, you know, my love for the environment, so just. Considering what programs we could put in there for the younger grades to get them, you know, like. Yeah. thinking about this, yeah. Well, thank you, James, for that comment. I appreciate that, and I always say get them early. The younger, the better, right? Thank you for that. Always thinking about green schools on my end, and this aligns, you know, very clearly. Uh-huh. Right. what the Green School program. Uh, as long as, you
019know, students are involved, and that's K-12, so… You know, if you're looking for coordination support, you can reach out to the Schmidt Center. We want to make sure our students are involved in this. I mean, I hear you on the high school side of things, and um… Why? That is in addition, but if… Just want to make sure, uh, we've got student engagement for that green school piece. Awesome, I will keep that in mind, and I actually, I probably should have included in that initial meeting, but that was just our first meeting, so… Moving forward, subsequent meeting, I'll make sure that both you and actually Donald and also want to have. the CTE director also be part of that as well, so definitely. Noted. Great. Well, thank you all so much. Thank you, Director Morrison,
020for this great report, and. the new ideas and connections that had just sparked that we can follow up on, really appreciate that. So now, as I said, we're going to skip down to the case study for today, 2.3. Langley Park McCormick Elementary School, Priority 6, Adaptation Action 2. Create resilient food production on PGCPS properties. So I will once again recognize Director Morrison. to introduce the presenters and, uh, say welcome to our guest presenters. Okay, thank you for that. So, we have… presenters from the Langley Park Civic Association. And… Do we have… that… okay, so Jacqueline, we're… there's another gentleman who, um. Hello! Um, Miss Ling? is… he's not presenting tonight, is he with you tonight? I think, Christina, did you say somebody? Go ahead. Hi, Jack. May I speak? Norberto Martinez? because I know you
021spoke with… go ahead. Yeah. Uh, so I'm, I'm, uh, representing Universal. I… got you, okay. Thank you, and welcome. Go ahead. Yeah. So, uh, I work… Yeah, so I work with Norberto, um, through the Langley Park Civic Association, um, and so. Um, he was able to be here, but I, um, am working with him on this, and. Um, my big task with him is on this particular project as well. Yeah. Um, I did have a presentation that I emailed, um, so I'm not sure. I should do that, or if I should share my screen. Whatever you prefer. We do have your presentation on file, so I don't know, is it easier, Micah, for you to just do it, or… Since you have it up already? Whatever she prefers. I know some people like to facilitate,
022so whatever you prefer. If you'd like me to share, I can. Uh… Okay, I can pull it up. Yeah. Okay. And, uh… Okay, let me do that… Okay, um, is it showing up? Yeah. Okay. Alright, um, so, in Langley Park, um, we are interested in creating a food forest, um. It is… I'm not sure if everybody knows what a food forest is, but a food forest is. Um, in the way that we would like to, um, create it is, um, like a space that's like a park. Right? And at the same time, full of trees, it's a forest full of, um, local Indigenous plants that will grow a lot of local foods, and so we're very interested in creating that. Um, as well as, um. growing things that the community is very much interested in
023growing, like tomatoes and basil. So, like, a lot of, um, so farming in a way that's more natural, rather than having, like, a traditional farm setup. Um, so that is what we're interested in. Um, the Langley Park Civic Association is an association that was created to bridge. the local Langley Park Hispanic immigrant community with. Um, the broader community, um, and to be a voice for them. And, um, a big mission of the Langley Park Civic Association is to do a lot of. cleaning up and improving the quality of life for the local community. And, um, the community for a very long time has been asking for the ability to garden. Um, most of the community, 77% of the community are renters, and there is a rule throughout all of the rental apartments that you're not
024allowed to do any sort of gardening, you're not allowed to have any. Um, you're not even supposed to have any potted plants in your, like, your kitchen. or on your terrace. I know I've definitely seen them around, so people are gardening secretly, but there is a really big. demand that the community really wants to garden. Um, and so, um… They've brought this up at several, like, community planning forums, and so we would… we are interested, and we've been working to try to identify a place to do that. Um, for the community. Um, and… Um, it is really important for them, um. So, a food forest is great. We know of the environmental impacts of a food forest, right? It's going to improve air quality. Um, improve the local ecosystems, um. And very specific to this
025community, it's going to address heat, which is a major challenge for the Langley Park community. Um, there… a lot of the AC units don't work well or unreliable, or the power is unable to sustain multiple AC units. And what we see a lot is that in the middle of the summer, when it's 90 degrees or hotter outside, they actually exit their apartments, and they go to the local parks, right? Um, even here, um, this is a place where I've often seen a lot of families sitting under trees when it's 93 degrees, 99 degrees outside. They're, like, trying to escape the heat that's in their apartment. And I've even seen families sitting under the slides. Um, here, I've often seen families just, um, sitting underneath the playground structure. Um, with young children, um, trying to, um,
026get away from the heat. So the heat is really a big problem, um, that the community faces in the summertime. Um, and so, um… this project is going to help address. not only the desire to grow things, but also to have a better quality of living. Um, a lot of times they go swimming in this little stream. That, um, runs through the neighborhood. Um, although, like, how clean the water is and how safe it is is questionable, but these are just places where they. um, choose to escape heat. So, um, in addition to environmental justice, right, it is a… gardening is really important to this community because they come from farming communities, right, and they want to. teach their children and pass their traditions down to their children. Um, and, uh, what better way to
027do that than through gardening? And so there's this really deep desire that the community has expressed to garden. Um, they also have talked about, um, they wanted a safer place for their kids, so they are, they're very big into neighborhood cleanups and. They even are conscious about, like, being careful with plastic water bottles, um, and they've talked about wanting to be able to grow food that's, like, has less pesticide and less chemicals, so they're very conscious of these things. But they don't have access to be able to grow things, which they really want. And they recognize that, um, so the children, sometimes the teenagers get a little bit destructive, and. They break windows and things like that, so they recognize that if there's a space for children to be productive, they're going to be less
028destructive on the neighborhood, and the parents want that because they want their children to grow up in. Um, um, safe environments. So these are the things that the community has talked about. Um, so… why not a traditional garden, right? The community has, um… Like, irregular life, sometimes you work the day shift, sometimes you work the night shift, sometimes you have to go away for 2 weeks to work, right? And so there's… there's no, like, routine. Um, and so, like, a food force, like, in the non-traditional sense, which… because a traditional garden requires. this commitment, and you rent a place. Um, it doesn't work for this community, right? There's too much unpredictability, and so… Uh, what seems to have worked, because we've, um, piloted some gardening over at the Casa Gardens. What seems to work well
029for the community is, like, this shared labor. Like, on Monday, one family waters the plants, on Tuesday. Another family waters the plants, and it's this big community effort, rather than what we're used to when we go and rent. a plot at a community garden. Um, so we… so the food force model works well for this community. Um, so this is an. aerial view of what we would like, right? So here is the Langley Park Community Center. And then over here is McCormick Elementary School, and they have their area fenced in here, but I know this whole area all. Belongs to the Board of Ed of the Department of Ed. But we brought in a consultant to survey the land, and they identified that an ideal place to begin a food forest is, like, this area
030here. And this area here, um, taking advantage of existing trees and the terrain, right? And then there is an old. um, parking lot here that's kind of disappearing and, uh, or basketball court, or parking lot, there's something here that it's like a concrete floor. And this, um, would make, um, a good, um. gathering space, right? And then we would start in the first year to start. Um, planting, um, trees. Um, in these areas to begin the food forest and to begin the canopy, and if I… Go back to the beginning, right? A forest has many layers, right? You plant the big trees first in the first year. Right? And then it offers shade for the understory, and then it creates another layer for the shrubs, and then for… The root system, and it is this
031whole ecosystem, um, that evolves, that self-sustaining. Um, and, um, provides, uh, many benefits, not just for humans, but for wildlife as well, and insects. Um, and so… Um, where… so, the beginning of the project. would be in these areas. Uh, we surveyed, there is a water source here, uh, where we can, um, uh, develop that process, uh. And so that's what we're interested in starting with. Um, well, so if we had the perfect story and what we hope to eventually be able to incorporate, um. is that it would have a composting system, it would have a rainwater harvesting system. Incorporated into it. Um, we would, uh, it's going to be led by the local community, so that they can guide the direction of the food forests. We want very much to. Um, because this is
032their desire, we want to. have this created in a way that would make sense for them. Uh, for the, for the Langley Park Association. Um, and the people, so it would be a food forest committee guiding it. Um, it's a community gathering places, right? Because all. Gardens are gathering places, and so we want to incorporate that. And it's gonna address the shade for the residents. At some point, we want to continue… we would like to hold educational workshops, right? And. This is such a great way for the community to showcase their knowledge about local herbs. planting skills and a great collaboration with McCormick Elementary School. Um, as well, um, providing, uh, educational programs to the school. Ideally, right, so this is, like, what we hope this project turns into, like, this collaboration between. Um, McCormick
033Elementary School and the local residents who live there, and connecting. like many generations of people. Um, and with that. We would have pollinated gardens and also addressing food sovereignty, because not only does the community want food, they want healthy food, free from pesticides. And those, uh, in that way. Um, we've done our research, and we qualify, and we have actually had. Um, a representative come from Joe's Movement Emporium, and they are ready. willing and ready, like, they'll come tomorrow, right? And they are willing to plant 40 trees, and they will keep those trees watered for 2 years. Um, ideally, we want to get it in soon, because it is tree planting season. And, um, a lot of consultation has identified these. kinds of trees, right? The local pawpaw, service berries, the American. persimand, awkward trees,
034um, and even fake trees, which are not native, but they're non-invasive. Um, so these are the kinds of trees that have been looked into. Um, as well. And, um, so… The vision for Langley Park's Food Forest, um, is that it is more than just an environmental justice, it's this whole community justice, social justice project. that bridges, um, everyone together. Um, and so that is my presentation. Um, are there any questions? Oh, thank you so much. Um, oh, Dorothy, did you wanna… do the transition here before I say something? Well, no, I just have a… just really more of a clarification. Thank you so much, Michelin, for that presentation. I think it's awesome. I like the fact that it's this holistic approach, and it meets so many needs, you know, the training for the local community,
035and dressing of violent justice, you know, heat islands, all that stuff is really wonderful. I'm just curious, so will the civic… will the Langley Park Civic. association, hopefully I'm saying this right, um. Would they be responsible for, sort of, like, coordinating the community, getting volunteers that would then take turns? to maintain all that, okay. Yeah, so we've already presented the idea, and a lot of people are interested. They actually even talked about apple trees. They really want apple trees, like, so there's a lot of local interest. Okay. Um, but it's kind of hard. Um, to do more, because we don't have an MOU, we don't have anything yet, so at… so there is definitely, um, interest at this time. Right. Mm-hmm. And when you said MU, you're talking about the MOU from… with us? Um…
036but it's just… Yeah. Yeah. the school system, okay. Yeah, so we're just waiting for that before we can really, like, launch the committee planning, uh, the planning committee, and all of that work, and… launch those details, yeah. Thanks. Awesome, thanks. Yeah. Yeah, thank you, Director Morrison, and I'll just jump in as a… point, you know, privilege here of… I actually am. spending some time on this project and. Um, the memorandum of understanding. is moving along, and those go through PGCPS legal and. Mm-hmm. a lot of these questions about management and risk management are where that stage of the process, and we're. But we're working hard to move this to not miss out on this great partnership with, um. Joe's movement porium, so, um… But it's great to hear all of these details. I know we…
037Again, because of our time crunch, I'll just take the question from David, because I suspect we'll be. bringing you back for updates and have. opportunity for more discussion over time. Um, so David, I'll have you ask a question, and then we will need to move on with our other presentations. Thank you. Um, so my question had to do with. as you are preparing to establish this food forest, have you all. reached out any to the PG Master Gardeners, um, for any help, because I know that they'll have. Lots of good advice when it comes to. planting and all of that, and entry type and all of that. Yeah. Yeah, so Joe's Movement Emporium is providing a lot of support. Uh, we are also working with the PGA Autobahn Society, who is also providing a lot
038of guidance, and then. Um, the community… La Cuenta. is also another local, um, organization that is also interested, um, with helping and providing guidance as well. Um, so we're… we're just, uh… Where, like, we've got everything in place, we're ready to go. Yeah, well, thank you so much, and thank you so much, Ms. Schuling, for joining us, um, as a. Yes. Thank you for inviting me. Yeah. He's hungry. Okay. guests today, and, um, for all of that great information. And of course, you're welcome… You're welcome to stick around, or if you need to go, I see… I see you're managing your child there, so… Um, but it… yeah, but again, thank you, thank you so much. Okay. Um, so we, we will now move on to item 2.2, which are the presentations on. Priority 5,
039reduce food waste and. And grow climate-friendly food, and Priority 6 commit to sustainable materials management, procurement. Uh, you know, there's multiple intersections of these two priority areas, so I will now. recognize Director Morrison, um, and I do want to acknowledge that we do have a special. guest, um, our student. member of the board, um, Ms. Ari… Olua Ajake, um, Ajakai, who is, um. joining us, like, and I'm like. Here, your time for the video. So, it's such a. pleasure to have our student member of the board engaged in. this work and a guest of our, uh, of this segment of the. Thank you. And so, with that, I'd like to invite, um, Miss Sarah Gillespie, who is our Recycling coordinator. Uh, with the Department of Sustainability and Resilience, as well as Mary Kirkland. our Director
040for Food and Nutrition Services, and as Board Member Vuza, the member, um, mentioned. These areas overlap a lot, so I'm going to leave it up to both of them. It might be a dog and pony. type of thing, so, um. Starting with Ms. Sarah Gillespie, you wanna… you want to start us off? Absolutely, uh, thank you. Um, Micah, would you be able to run the slides? Sure, one moment. Thank you. Okay, great. Uh, so you can go to the next slide. So, uh, I'm Sarah Gillespie, I'm the recycling technician in the Department of Sustainability and Resilience, um, and so very happy to, um, talk about. Lots of stuff we've been doing to try to reduce waste, um, in PGCPS over the last several months here. So, uh, yeah, Priority 5, Priority 6, um, you know,
041definitely has a lot of intersections and a lot of ways that. Our different programs are supporting each other, building upon each other, and really. You know, angling us toward that ultimate goal of, um… you know, the zero, uh, food waste, zero, um… Landfill waste that we have, so if we can go to our next slide… One of our biggest updates, um, that we've had over the last couple of months is our new administrative procedure, um, 0111, reduction of wasted food. Um, so this procedure… is, um, pretty comprehensive, and it is, uh… Really nice layout. For, um, PGCPS staff to inform everybody. About these programs, but also, um, you know, that. These programs are possible, that they are steps to get us towards our zero-waste goals, um, and it's the first time that we, as a
042district have really. codified and, you know, put the specific procedures out on, you know, an official procedure so that it's clear to everyone, you know, what's. What are we doing? So if we go to the next slide… Um, so, you know, the purpose of it is, um, implementing best practices for utilizing. food resources and decreasing wasted food in PGCPS. So, I speak a lot about. You know, waste reduction, reducing food waste, um, and so we named this Reduction of Wasted Food to really, you know, emphasize that. The food that is going in the landfill, right, has no other… good use, right? It's creating a lot of problems. And so, we have several other alternatives now with this procedure laid out. And so, as we know, back in 2021, um, we had the goals of, and
043still have the goals of. Zero food waste by 2030, and zero landfill waste by 2040. So… This procedure… This, um, now… Prioritizes strategies that are gonna reduce waste generation. So, um, through programs like Offer vs. Serve. Uh, which is implemented through Food Nutrition Services in the serving line. Um, through… and also… it's gonna outline how to redistribute food for consumption, so through things like our share tables, which are in our cafeterias. And also… composting. Um, and so… Those offer versus serve, the share tables, and, um, food donation, which are outlined in this procedure. are really now just… Emphasizing that those programs have a much bigger impact on our waste stream overall, and so now we're trying to focus a little bit more upstream so that. We are utilizing those resources. to their best purpose before
044composting. Um, so… Also, you know, we always, in this procedure, as with everything else with that, you know, we also like to mention the Maryland Green School Program because that is a big driver, right, of environmental stewardship at our schools, and it also. is a big way that our students are involved, and we see a lot of student leadership through that program. So, um, this procedure came out, um… I think it was officially posted around the summer, or last… at the very end of the spring, so it's on the website now. Uh, the procedure has a lot of great details, a lot of resources in it, and so we're going to talk about a couple of these programs next, so if you could advance the slide. And so, um, a big one for us is
045offer versus serve. So, offer versus serve was already being practiced, um, somewhat in the district, and. But it is a provision of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. And what it does is it reduces wasted food by allowing students to choose the foods they want to eat. So, now with our procedure, our administrative procedure. We have, um, you know, solidified. Clearly for everyone that Offerverse serve is to be practiced in all schools. Um, and set out those guidelines. So, what that means is that a reimbursable meal. has to include at least 3 of the 5 meal components, which are protein, fruit. Milk, vegetable, and grain. And in order to ensure that students receive the nutritional benefits of the meal. And so, um, again, that's 3 of the 5. They don't have to take all
0465, they could take up to 5, but they have to have at least 3 of those, and one. One of those components has to be a serving of fruit or vegetable. And so, with the students not being required to take the milk, that gives a lot more choice, right? And so… With this program coming online, we're hoping to see when students are coming out of the serving line, they're. selecting the items they will eat, and we're seeing more consumption of the food, and unless that ends up. Down the line. Um, so as part of the administrative procedure, we also included a lot of resources, and so these, um, pictures here are from the USDA tip sheets that go over the programs, um, for breakfast and lunch. And really identify. how this looks, so that, um,
047you know, from food nutrition, from teachers, from principals, right, they can all see what the components are of the program. And then also give some really good examples, um, of what that would look like. And if we go to the next one… And so, um, so I'm just gonna read through a couple things from the administrative procedure, but again, this is a food nutrition. staff, um, program, because it's being implemented in the serving line, so… Um, with the procedure, food nutrition staff, right, so they're informing and assisting students. and staff with implementing the guidelines and how to select the items for reimbursable meal. So, they need to encourage students to take only items they plan to eat. And that are required for reimburse per meal. And we also have them display, uh, offer versus serve
048information in the serving line. So, this poster is an example that we sent out to all schools and asked them to post, um, to remind people, so when they're standing in line, when they see that, they can have that. poster to help guide them. God, the students. Um, and also with the procedure, it's incorporating other reduction strategies, so we're encouraging those, you know. Um, actions like composting and recycling, and also building upon these other. You know, waste reduction mindset. Um, and so, also, separating expired food, um, and food unfit for consumption for disposal by composting is also part of what food nutrition staff. Are helping us to do. And so, with our composting program, um, which I'll get into a little bit later, but that's something where we, um, work with. The kitchen staff and,
049um, have them, you know, help out with sorting that material as well. So. Food nutrition, um, has been a great partner, and, you know, Director Kirkland, if she's on, or she's speaking later, can definitely answer more questions. She's more the expert than I am on this part, um, but this is going to be… a really big change for us to be able to, um, you know, give more choice and then also. see more consumption, hopefully, you know, with this starting to be implemented more across the board. And so our next slide, if we go on… Our share table, so we love share tables. Uh, so… Share tables are now moving out into the cafeteria, so after the students have gone through the serving line, they've, you know, selected the items they're going to eat for
050the reimbursable meal. Um… When they have decided, you know, maybe I'm not hungry enough to eat everything, or, you know, it's time to empty, and I just have something left. This is a designated station where students can return whole or unopened food. Or beverages, that they're choosing not to eat. Or they can also go up and take another serving of an item they would like to eat. And so, the way we set this up in the cafeterias is we have a designated place where we post this poster. Um, to designate the spot, and then students can come up, they can take another serving, they can leave a serving. Um, and so we have very specific guidelines on what goes on the table and how it's run. Um, and so… The foods that go on the
051share table. have to be from the School of Nutrition program. They must be unopened and in their original containers. And also, whole, clean, and good condition. So that applies especially to things like the banana in the picture, right? We can't have a banana that's been open, that has a bite out of it. Um, and then, if anything's temperature controlled, um, so, like, milk, um. You know, at the end of the lunch periods, that those items would not be able to be stored, right? So they have a time frame that they can be out for. Um, and then we also encourage, along with the share table, other waste reduction practices, like, for example, if students have ketchup packets or spork packets. That they end up not using, we encourage them to also put them on the
052share table so they could be reused. Um, and so trying to kind of get at that bigger, you know, waste reduction mindset in the cafeteria. Um, and so this poster was also shared with all schools, sent out to them for them to post in their, um. in their cafeterias, so that. We can have, um, you know, that second opportunity for consumption of the food, and, you know, what we have. seen, anecdotally, right, is that. Usually, things go on the shared table, then things come off the shared table, so it's… it's pretty effective to help us, you know, give that second chance to food and have more of the food actually consumed. At lunch. Next slide. Um, so again, just for the share table, just to clarify. They are needed to be monitored by an adult,
053um, who's designated by the principal, just to make sure, like we said, that, you know, things from home are not being put on the shared table. We have provided the posters, um, and asked them to be put out. Um, and then during the school day, it's only students that are to take items from the share table. Um, and with the administrative procedure, there's also a section in there that does talk about. after the school day, um, schools could make that food available. to the, uh, school, to the other students. And so… Essentially, um… that share table would kind of become, like, an… after school chair table. But, uh, so there's a few important things about that, where the food cannot be redistributed, um, via school pantries. I'm sorry, it can be redistributed via school pantries
054and food backpack programs. Um, but not to the after-school programs. Um, and so, this is something I've seen examples of this in other districts, where they had a shared table, say, in the cafeteria during lunch, then afterwards. Perhaps it's the same area, and students, you know, after the school day, come in, get a snack, anything remaining, or maybe it's moved out to, um… Out by the main entranceway, where it's more available to the community, um, and… You know, they see a lot of turnover from that. And so then, um, you know, the question we always got was, well, then what happens if there's something still left on the share table, right? And so, basically, after, um… You know, at the end of the day, after these different things have been utilized, if there's anything left.
055You know, then custodial staff would empty the items and dispose of it, so… because we don't want those items sitting out overnight on the share table. And so, utilizing composting, recycling as much as possible, but at the end of the day, everything does have to be. taken out so that we don't have any other issues that pop up. So, next slide. And, um, this is a new poster for us, so this is our, um, 4 Tips for Waste Reduction at lunch. Um, and so this came about through, um. One of our Schmidt Center, um, colleagues, who would talk to students and really encourage that waste reduction mindset. And so she would, you know, start asking the kids four questions, you know, do I drink milk? And so, you know, if the students say yes, then
056great, drink all the milk, you know, don't drink just half, drink as much as you can, so you can recycle the bottle. If the answer's no, well then, maybe you don't need to take the milk. Maybe you choose something else when you go through the serving line. Um, then about the sauce packets, you know, sometimes we see students just automatically take a big handful. And so it's reminding them, if you really are only using one or two of the condiment packets, then. take one or two, you know, if you need to go back and get a second, you know, that's okay. But if you're only using one or two, please don't take 10. Um, third, do I need a spork packet today, or is it just a napkin? So, if it's pizza day, and we
057are not needing that spork. Then we should just take that napkin. It's gonna be, uh… Big way for us to reduce waste. Um, and so, you know, for the schools, they can provide just the napkin, and so we want to utilize that. That's a much… that's a nice, simple way. Um, to reduce some of that. And then, also, will I eat everything on my tray? And, you know, if not, let's utilize that shared table so that someone else has an opportunity to consume the food. And so we created a poster for this, and that has been sent out to all the schools, too, um, to post up in, um. the cafeteria, to also remind people, um, you know, other ways of waste reduction practices that were. We're trying to implement across the district. And next
058slide… And then, speaking of our posters, um, we were able to update all of our posters, um. Over the last couple months, so we have our recycling, trash posters, um, and our compost poster. Because as we know, we have been including more items that can go in the compost bin, so our compostable items, so now. We have, um, the posters that are better reflecting what we're actually sorting in the programs, um, our shared table poster is new, that for tips poster I mentioned, um. Then also, a couple other things, like the flatten poster. You know, as we know, in the, uh… dumpster for the recycling, you know, you put in 4 huge boxes, you use up so much space, and so we created, you know, just a little poster to remind people, flatten the boxes,
059it really helps us with space, we get more capacity. And it results in a lot of cost savings, actually, for the district. Um, our ingen toner, and then our battery recycling programs as well, um, are some of our other programs, and… posters, we've been working on updating and, um, sharing with everyone. And next slide… And then, also, um, so the other thing that is really exciting that has been, um, really great is, in week 3 of science. There is a waste diversion lesson, um, for all K-5 students. And so, this has been a major, um, push forward here, and so thank you so much to the Schmidt team, to Science Department, to everybody who was part of this. Because having, you know, now that. Everybody is talking about recycling. They are talking about how do
060we. you know, reduce, reuse, and having that lesson to really start setting the bar, um, and setting the stage, and so. Then, when we're talking about these other practices in the cafeteria, that has already been set early on in the year, and it's really helping everybody get off to a great start in the fall. So, um, that has been a wonderful lesson. Um, and then also, we've been doing a lot of professional development with teachers, with building supervisors on our composting program, recycling, waste reduction, and so… you know, we always try to keep it comprehensive, even if we're, you know, really focusing on recycling as a topic. We're always mentioning the composting program, all these other waste reduction. opportunities for schools as their next steps, and other things that can encourage them along their. pathway
061to becoming a, you know, more of a zero-waste school. Um, and so, also, kudos to the county as well, because they have been a great supporter of us, um, and so we've done. Great trainings with them at our composting facility and our recycling facility, and so… Those have been very valuable to actually take everybody, they get to see how the compost is produced, they get to see how the recycling facility runs. And having that, you know, experience there. really can be a changing experience. For everybody. Um, and then also, uh, schools are still taking students on these field trips as well, and so… We get great reports back about, you know, the green teams and other students about how they. you know, have seen everything, um, where they're recycling, where their compost goes. Um, and
062so, uh, and then I mentioned all the information and posters. We, um, have been sending out to schools to. Help them, to support them, and to, you know, get more visual reminders throughout the schools and, and… Improve, um… all of our waste reduction practices. So, next slide. And then we are really excited, too, because we are in the process of expanding our composting, um, schools. So, we have 6 new schools that are joining the composting program, and we're in the process of onboarding them. Um, and so a big kudos to these schools, um, for joining our program. Uh, and so now we are, um… you know, keep pushing forward with our waste reduction numbers, so I just put up our numbers here for the last couple years to show, you know, with our composting program,
063how our. weight, um, that we're diverting from the landfill, uh, has really increased. Um, and then also our recycling. And so, you know, our overall waste diversion numbers keep going up and up, um, and, you know, as we are making some of these changes, um. with our waste reduction, right, and that source reduction offer versus serve, you know, take only what you're going to use. That kind of thing. Um, really, we're kind of hoping that some of our numbers go down, right? That we actually are overall total. trash, recycling, everything is gonna go down, and so… Um, I think over the next couple of years, as we grow, you know, we're gonna start seeing some of those effects. Um, but I think that's my last slide. Can you go more? Yes, it is, okay. So,
064thank you for everybody, and I guess let me know any questions. Right, I think we're gonna continue with Director Morrison and, um… Let's see… James and Ari. Um, thank you. Can we go to the next slide? Um, alright, so… good app, good evening, everybody. Uh, Mary Kirkland, Director for Food Nutrition Services, um, and I just wanted to go over some of the priorities that food and nutrition. Um, have been aligning with Priority 5, which is to reduce food waste and grow climate-friendly. Um, food in addition to what, um, Sarah just spoke about. Um, could we go to the next slide? Um, so F&S has a local food for school grant, um, which has been extended until June 2026. And so, PGCPS, Food Nutrition Services, we were a recipient of this grant, and so what this
065allows us to do in our schools. is to work with local farmers to provide produce for our students within our schools. Um, specifically, we work with Moon Valley Farm. And this provides us a number of different fruits and vegetables, more so fresh fruit and vegetables that are specifically local. Um, to Maryland, um, to serve within our cafeterias. Um, for this specific grant. In particular, um, we are looking to, um… We are looking to incorporate this into our Innovation Zone schools. So there's a total of 33 schools that fall under this, um, category. Um, and so what we're gonna do is provide our, uh, our cafeterias. Um, on a weekly basis. Um, based on what they have available, they have things from different types of lettuces in the spring to fresh strawberries, to. Even fresh blueberries
066and things of that nature for our students, and in the fall, they have apples. However, we won't be able to take part. in this until January 2026. Um, because that's when the funds are reloaded into the grant, um. The grant… to the grant, basically. And so, we'll be working with our staff to make sure that this will last us at least throughout the school year, so every week we'll be looking at what they have to ensure that our students. Um, in those schools, um, are receiving fresh fruit and vegetables from our local farmers. Um, and in addition to this, we also get, um, Department of Defense funds, which is a fresh produce program as well, um, and that's funded by the Department of Defense. And that also allows us the same, um… Basically the same
067type of, um… I guess you can say produce to our students, but it's not necessarily local to Maryland, it's local to. Um, our… like, it's not local… locally from Maryland, it's within a 300-mile radius of Maryland, is what they require as local. And so, that will be in another set of schools, and that is funds that we as F&S, we set aside. Um, for our schools, but once that money and those funds run out. We switch back utilizing our fresh produce, um. vendor, which is Blue Produce. Um, and so this will be taking place. Um, you'll see these items on our national… on our, uh. Our lunch program for our students. Um, more so in the spring, you may see… in the spring and summer, you may see things such as grapes. Um, plums, nectarines.
068Um, but in the fall, you may see things such as butternut squash, which could be roasted, um, as well as just winter squash. Um, and more so apples as well, too. So those probably will be coming between January and February, once we start the grant up. Um, we can go to the next slide. Um, as you all know, we have expanded our hot supper, um, program. And so, what this also allows us to do. Um, in our cafeterias, ensuring that we… Um, you know, cut down on food waste is that we're able to ensure that if we have, say. I guess with the shared tables, if there's a shared table that we do have for, um, the after-school program, we do have that there as well, too. So students can also go back and get
069more. Um, but this just also is available to our students in. Um, and in addition to the share table that they have, uh, from the lunch program, but they also receive a meal. And this helps us be able to utilize a lot more of our, um, fresh produce that we have left over for the day, so that those things don't go bad, especially for our bananas. In particular, because although they do, when we get them. They come in green, we don't serve them until later in the week, but by that time, sometimes if they're sitting for a certain amount of days, um, we're able to utilize them more within our after-school program so that we do not have to, um. discarded them in any type of way once they do go brown. But also, um,
070one thing we're looking at to help with our food waste as well, too, is potentially. Um, starting a, uh, a smoothie program in some of our, some of our schools. Um, not necessarily this year, but hopefully to come, and that in itself will also help us utilize. some of our fresh produce that we do get in, because we'll be able to freeze it and then utilize it more, um, and that may be something that we start out with our hot supper program in itself, so then we can actually pilot the program there, um, because after school, um, some, you know, in the spring, some students may want a smoothie, some students may also want a hot meal, but we want to be able to. give them more options that are healthy, but also utilizes the
071food that is within our cafeterias in itself. Um, next slide. Um, in addition, we've increased our Maryland Meals for Achievement schools, so we are currently at 103 schools this school year. And so, normally with this program, um, food is loaded on a cart, then it's delivered to a classroom, and what. We've… what a lot of LEAs have seen is that once that food is delivered on a cart to a classroom, um, we have a certain amount of time. Um, before we have to actually discard all that food. And so what we have shared with a lot of schools this year is that for this program here, since the regulations have changed. To help reduce food waste, they can come through the actual line, which has cut back on the amount of waste that we have
072from this program, being that we can keep the food out of the temperature danger zone. Um, quick, uh, quicker than we normally would if it was delivered to a classroom. So we would have to worry about. heating it up, then bringing it back down to temperature and storing it back into the actual, um, coolers to get it back down to temperature so we can serve it. And if we don't get it down by a certain time frame, we do have to discard that food. And that's one program where. When we looked at the school… when, I guess the state has looked at the waste from this program. That is, while it's meant to encourage. students to eat together. Um… sometimes you may get a lot more food back, especially if you have to heat it
073up. So one thing we have transitioned our MMFA schools to do is to have them come through the line so they can actually. students who actually want to eat, they can get the food, and we actually have a true number instead of having to throw things away. Um, next slide. Um, and so, um, one of our other initiatives that we do have, um, in, in. That goes with the Climate Change Action Plan. Um, it's to implement values driven to a climate-friendly food service. And one of those things is replacing the animal-based, um, animal-based proteins with plant-based proteins. As well as including, um, not just students, but parents. community members, um, staff, um, with feedback on our menus. And so one thing that we did. Um, before winter break is we had a student member… we
074partnered with a student member of the board. And we had a student taste test with her student advisory council, and the items that we, um, showcased was our JTM barbecue, uh, Korean barbecue sauce. Um, our JTM general so-sauce. As well as our all-eat. beef, meatball, um, which is also allergen-free. And then our plant-born taco filling and our plant-born pasta sauce. So this allows us to fill a hole on our menu where we don't necessarily. um, have plant-based food, so we're introducing. We are looking to introduce that to our menu. Um, so here are a few pictures from it, but on the next slide. Um, I wanted to share the findings from it as well. Um, and I believe then we'll have our student member of the board, um, and James speak on this as well,
075too. Um, but one thing, one of our, um, KPIs for this year is to have at least an 80% student satisfaction rate before we add items to our menu. And this is to ensure that our menu is student-driven, and it has student voice behind it. And so, with that, um, overall, these are the ratings from the different things that we tried. Um, the overall, um… I guess percentage of things favored was actually the JTM plant-born taco filling. So, surprisingly, our plant-based item that we did try with our students. Would be a fan favorite, because it did have an 80% overall rating. Um, if you go to the next slide, um, it's more, uh, figures there. So, um, here you go. Um, the plant-borne taco filling had a 100% overall food, um. percentage favored by our
076students. Um, they said it tastes just like regular filling, um, regular taco filling. It was very tasty, and they enjoyed the different toppings they could put on it, because this also allows us to add more vegetables to our actual menu, so they can add more vegetables, so it stays. plant-based, and we're looking into, um… Making sure that whatever we use, whether it's a corn tortilla or a flour tortilla, that it meets the need for those students to, um. consume it as well, um, as well as the… Korean, um… barbecue meatball, although it's not plant-based, it is allergen-free, and so that allows our students with allergies to really, um. Be able to join in with their peers and enjoy the food on our menus as well, too. Um, but I know in addition to this, another
077route we're taking. Is, um, to get the feedback from not just the students, but the parents, as well as community members. We are developing the survey that we plan to have out, um, when we, uh, in January, so that's something that can kind of go out similar to the climate survey that was just completed, I believe, in November at some point, or in October, so then we can get feedback of the menu items, and from that, that's how we'll determine. Um, based on student feedback and the feedback that we really get from our, uh, from the survey, what we're going to take off, and then when we do the taste test with our students, that'll let us know how we're going to put things on. Eventually, we will transition that to an actual committee that
078will include students. But right now, as we are really forming the foundation of our menu and really trying to figure out what needs to come off. Um, we're gonna use our baseline data as the survey at the moment. Um, but those are… Note that… well, those are my slides. Um, did you want me to introduce, um, James and Ari? Or were you gonna do that, board member? It wasn't struggling. Oh, please, go ahead. Yeah, no, please go ahead. Okay, um, so I know James and Ari both are here, and so I just wanted to know if you all can share your feedback from the taste test. Um, just to share your experience, and then… Um… I guess let us know, we'll let everyone know, like, what, um, your feedback was from that. Perfect, James, do
079you want to start, or should I start? Uh, you can go first. Okay. Um, good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here, inviting me to the Climate Change… Climate Action Change meeting. Um, I really do appreciate, you know, you all considering me and James to, like, be here tonight. In addition to, um, Ms. Kirkland, thank you for… partnering up with us for the food taste testing, and I just want to thank Board Member Booster Schneider for also inviting us to this meeting as well. Um, for my take for this mob, um, for the food test tasting that we had at the Smop Advisory Council meeting. It was wonderful. It was literally an amazing event. Um, everybody loved the food, like, one of the people who… one of the students who was there.
080He typically does food reviews, like, for every restaurant that she goes to, and, like, when I went on her Instagram page, like, when she posted her food review, everything got, like, 10 out of 10 stars rating from her. And then another thing that I really liked about it was the fact that, like, a lot of students were able to, um, come together to be part of, like, this decision-making process for the foods that are being eaten on a daily basis inside of their cafeterias. Because a lot of the times, um, you know, if they're not eating, like, as soon as they're not eating good food, then they're not going to be able to, like. think well, or like, you know, feel energetic for the rest of the school day, so I want to continue throughout,
081especially, like, if you have lunch in the morning, and then you have to wait until, like, 3.10, 4.10 to end your school day. You probably don't. you know, want to continue with all the energy that you came in with in the morning, if your food is not really that good. So I really do appreciate the opportunity to have had, um, to have had this food test tasting in partnership with the Food and Nutrition Services, and I feel like it was. A 10 out of 10 reading event for me. All right, so I guess I'll just jump in now. Um… So, very much like Eri said, like. Just, like, the event overall was just… very amazing, you know, giving the opportunity for students to come in and provide their opinion on. the new menu. Um, one
082thing that I really enjoyed personally, you know, tying back this. Tying this back into, you know, CCAP is that. you know, we're starting to think of, you know, plant-based. Meals, you know, including plant-based meals into the menu, and I just thought that was, like, such an amazing step to take. as it comes to sustainability. Um, for my opinion of the food, I thought it was very good. I really enjoyed it, um, a lot of the options that were given. Um, it's, um, let's do it. I would really enjoy to see them on the menu, and I feel like a lot of students, a lot of my peers would enjoy to see them too. So, yep, that's all I had to share. Oh, thank you both so much, and, um, to, um… The team that just
083presented, so I'm going to… we have about… 10 minutes for questions. If we don't get to everyone's questions because of our 6 o'clock closing. please feel free to, um, send those. to me, or directly to. a presenter, and we'll get those answered for you. Um, so… We are going to start with James. Uh, yeah, it was coming back on. Um, I just had a question for Dr. Kirkland. Um… so, I heard you touch on this in, uh, right as you were ending your presentation. But, uh, about the student. base, like, council to, you know, help with the school menu. I was just gonna ask, you know. when were you thinking about implementing that, um, as it comes to, like. time, and um… we're, uh, I saw on the climate change action plan. Like, they had
084the plan… Uh, it said that, uh, we would possibly include input from the CCAP committee onto that. Council, so I just wanted to. Ask what you thought about that. Um, absolutely. So, right now, we're the… so that was our first taste test, and it was really… it was a really great collaboration, and we're trying to figure out how to continue. Um, continue that same… keep that same momentum. Um, so that we have students, um. you and Ari being two of them, um, who could be a part of that, um, as representation of the CCAP, as well as from just the, um. I guess the PGRAS students as well, too, and the board, and so we want to have students from all those committees be a part of the actual taste test. And be able to
085facilitate those with us. So then, you all can be the student advocates who are part of our food nutrition team who helps with those, um. who helps with the taste test. However, we know you all. our students, and you have very busy schedules, and so we are laying out the foundation of how we want to continue that, so then the council starts with you all being our council in the student representatives as we continue to do these larger taste tests. like we did before, um, because we find it a little hard to do it on a school-by-school basis, and we found it very helpful to have representation from students from all over the county, and so that is where we are setting our plan and our foundation, and then, um, I believe you remember Ms.
086Hillick, who was also there. She's looking at possibly, uh, she's going to reach out, I believe, to you, Ari, um, either before winter break or right after winter break to see when your next, uh, when you are holding your next student advisory meeting to see if we can kind of collaborate again on that same scale. Um, inviting more students to come in and be a part of it, so then we can continue the momentum, um, in getting the results we have, because that's going to help us build our menu to meet the need of the students, so that it's student-driven as well. Great, thank you so much, James. Thanks, Director Kirkland. Um, just to… a little technical thing, Micah, I'm noting that James Roberson is in the attendee side and needs to be pulled over
087to the panelist side. If you can, if you're able to. move him back into the panelist portion of the meeting, because I see he has his hand up. So, well, you're working on that. Um, any other… questions this evening? Uh, David Noto? Thank you. Um… I suppose this is a question, uh, related to. Um, what Ms. Gillespie was sharing a little earlier. Related to, uh, the share tables was. Why… I may have misunderstood, but why can't food that was on the after-school share table not go to a pantry? I didn't quite understand that. Could you explain that a little further? Thanks. So, I can jump in real quick, and then pass it over to Director Kirkland to supplement. Yeah. Or, yeah, go ahead, no, go ahead. I was gonna say this? Okay, I was gonna
088say, do you want me to take it, or you got it, or… Okay. Um, so I think what Sarah was saying is that the food from lunch is gonna go on the shared table. Right? So that's out when they're dismissing for those who may want to take that food with them. However, for the after-school program, um, that's separate, it has its own share table, and that would be for those… they can go to both. However, um, the shared tables would be located in two different areas, so they would be separate. Um, I don't believe that it's that they can't, um, go to the share table for the after-school program, or that it can't be donated. I just don't believe to know who would be there to actually take it to a center at the end
089of the program, because. Um, they are happening after school, and I don't know if those coordinators. Um, are the ones who… coordinate the, um… I think they may put it away, but also being that we have. Um, for our hot supper programs, I'm gonna say. Um, most of them are in bagged meals, um, and. Well, the hat upper is hot, but the cold is cold, but it's bagged meals, so therefore, um… I haven't seen a lot of food left on the shared tables from our after-school programs in itself. Um, and the reason we switched to the hot was because we wanted more students to participate, and even when we've gone out to review those, there's not a lot left over on those shared tables after school to actually. donate in itself, because they only have
090to take 3 items, and most of the time, that's the fruit. The actual main entree, and it could be a row that goes with it, but I don't know, Sarah, if you want to add to it. Yeah, I will. I think… I think what I said, I guess, was a little confusing, so thank you for bringing that up, because, um, yeah, so the items that are on the share table. could be donated to a local food pantry, and that is part of the procedure. So, um… You know, things like crackers, right, would be a great example, something that could be saved, taken to a food pantry. If it were to be the temperature-controlled items, they would have to stay under refrigeration, you know, and there's, um… Language in there about that, so things could go
091to a food pantry. Um, it was more that caveat about what's incorporated into the supper programs. There was a distinction there. That Mary mentioned, so thank you. James Roberson? Thank you. Can you all hear me? Okay, great. Uh, my question is for Ms. Kirkland. Yes. And thank you for your presentation. Mine is around training for the cafeteria staff. have all the cafeteria staff, uh, been trained in waste reduction strategies, like offer versus serve, the share tables. Um, just thinking about composting as well, composting inside the kitchen and recycling. Uh, or is there a plan for that in place? So, in terms of offer versus serve, um, there was… you said offer versus service, um. Offer versus serve, they are trained at our beginning of the year meeting, because that is also how… that is… that
092is part of our regulations of offer versus serve. Um, we do… it has been shared with us that. sometimes it's not necessarily our staff saying, take a milk, take a milk, and maybe the teachers that are saying, take a milk. Um, or whoever's in the cafeteria with them, but we have expressed, because we've talked with, um. You know, sustainability department in regards to the milk that are being taken to ensure that our staff is well-versed around offer versus serve and understand that. They don't have to take a milk, um, if they don't want a milk. But then, in terms of the shared tables, understanding that those operate outside of the kitchen. Um, and so that food does not get brought back in. However, they can, um, assist to ensure that it is being. held at
093the right temperatures if it's being refrigerated, or let them know, like, okay, this here probably can't be donated because it has been in a temperature danger zone, so therefore it needs to be discarded. Um, in terms of training for composting, um, I would say. I'm not exactly sure, um… I know we don't… we know that they compost, but we don't do the training. Um, I believe that's something once they become… correct me if I'm wrong, Sarah, but when they become a composting school, that's a training that they go through based on what you, um, and it's an e-doctor. Or is it hands-on? Sorry. Yeah, no worries. Uh, yeah, so I think at this point, a lot of the training has been school-by-school-based, um, and so that may be an area that. you know, we can…
094Mary, we could, you know, talk more offline and kind of come up with a, you know, maybe incorporate into some other things, um, a little more systemically there. But, um, I think it's been kind of as a school-per-school individual. Um, basis with that. All right, great, thank you. Any more hands? Just wait a moment… We're honoring your need to be a parent. I know, you all are so nice, I don't… I don't usually… I usually can keep going and keep you all around, and this time, I don't have a co-chair to hand it to, or I… or I would. Um, but… but I… I do have a bit of a burning question for, I guess. Sarah and Mary, but I think, Sarah, you're the one tracking this from your presentation, is… How… will you do
095a survey at the end of the year to. learn… like, because you… you gave the share table and the four questions to ask. Yeah, this is a big milestone, that it's like, hey, every school, you can do this. Do… will you do a survey of principals, or a different… like, how are you going to know at the end of the year. how… how many schools adopted this kind of enthusiastically. Yeah, so that's kind of a hard question to answer in a way, because that whole reduce piece, right, is very difficult, and we find the same challenge with, say, the shared table, right? Kind of seeing how much is our share table really reducing. What's going in the trash, because it's always, uh, kind of a floating thing. Yeah, so at this point, we're still, you
096know, it's still a new thing, we're still focused on the education informing, you know, looking for the signage to be up and that. Um, but yeah, later on, we will be, you know, yeah, following up and asking, you know, have you implemented this, or is it posted, and. To get that specific feedback, and then see how. you know, what other resources we need to provide. Um, but I will say also, it's included in all of our trainings for, you know, DSR with, like, waste reduction with Schmidt. You know, so this is, like, a piece of it that we're always promoting, right? We're always keeping that there. It's on the website, and so it's always kind of that, like. Don't forget about this piece, you know, whenever we can to… to get the word out. But,
097um, definitely we'll be following up to try to. gauge, you know, who else do we need to, um, you know, work with on that? Thank you for the question. Yeah, great. I will say, Sarah, I don't know if you all get those, if you all get the reports, if they just come straight to our office, but we do have schools that. track, like, how much they donate from the share table, and so we do get those. So I don't know if you want us to share them with your office so you have them as, like, a data point, because there are a few schools that want to, I would say, monthly, if not weekly basis, turn in those reports to… they send them into our office. So they're… They're doing that part. Yes, definitely. More
098data is better. Yeah, that's an amazing date. Yeah, I was gonna say amazing data to send to Sarah. So, Director Morrison, I'll have you with a final… question or comment, and then I'll do the adjournment. Oh, thank you. Um, and it's just a comment, so I kind of like the idea of the survey, and I know we're surveyed out with. Climate culture surveys all over the place, but I think that that would be… a good way to maybe get a sense. Um, of how many folks are participating, so that's something I think we could look into, um, Sarah and others. So just, just a thought, yeah. Thanks for that. Alright, great. Well, thank you so much. Thanks again to all of our presenters. This was, uh, great information, and definitely see. progress happening in these
099data reports and, uh, you know, feels great. So, um, on that note, I will adjourn, uh, the chair informs the public that the next virtual Climate Change Action Plan Ad Hoc Committee meeting. will be held on February 18, 2026 at 4.30 p.m. Please continue to check the PGCPS Board webpage for more information and updates. There being no further business, the time is now 6.04 PM, and the December 10th, 2025. Climate Change Action Plan Ad Hoc Committee meeting is adjourned. Good night, everyone, and thank you. Happy Holidays, everyone. Thank you. Good night, everyone. Happy holidays. Take care. HappyGood night. HappyHappy