APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Appleton Area School District wants to see more food in the stomachs of students and less in the trash.
“It’s large numbers and high volumes and so, how can we eliminate some of that to really give back to others,” said Matt Mineau, Appleton East High School’s principal.
Mineau tells FOX 11 the answer? A sharing table.
“Anything that’s packaged or prepackaged, we would be able to put back on that table.”
Any unwanted and unopened food like drinks, fruits, and vegetables, from the school district’s food service program, will be placed on the sharing table.
“You can’t bring a school lunch from home and then decide to put something out there. It has to be specific to our food service organization.”
The district launched the idea Tuesday. Mineau says Appleton East will have a sharing table soon.
FOX 11 wanted to know how Appleton East plans to change its students’ behavior and implement the sharing table. Mineau says it’s going to take some dedication.
“Coaching up on a continuous basis. It’s not just a one and done or a situation where we have like a solution or a new idea like this comes out of the boat. We can apply it to everything and really have that mindset of, ‘hey, how can we make this best for not only ourselves but for the people we interact with.”
Mineau says students who’d like more food can grab it off the sharing table.
“I think this idea of sharing table allows students to, kind of, give back to other students who might eat more, you know, food that’s packaged but also allows for some students, who might not be getting enough and I think it’s an awesome and unique experience.”
Since the program is new, Mineau says the high school plans to use social media and talk to students during lunch to encourage them to use the sharing table.
The district says 27 of its locations will participate in the program and plans are in place to meet with food service employees for updates.
The district also says any uneaten food left on the table will be donated to local places like food pantries.
