NJ School Food Waste AmeriCorps Program

Rutgers' Department of Family and Community Health Sciences is currently looking to hire AmeriCorps Members to serve in schools full-time to implement environmental and food waste education and programming.

Activities performed by the AmeriCorps members will include :

• Teaching lessons on environmental science and food waste education to fifth grade classes
• Training school food service personnel in strategies to reduce food waste in cafeterias
• Conducting food waste assessments in school cafeterias to measure how much food is wasted

Applicants need not have a background in any specific topic area. They need only be passionate about youth, food security, and / or environmental education, be reliable and responsible, and have reliable transportation to get to the schools where they will be teaching. They will be trained to implement all required activities, including teaching lessons, performing food waste audits, and training staff by the faculty and staff overseeing this program.

Requirements :

Benefits for AmeriCorps Members :

Background on Rutgers Food Waste Team

The Rutgers Food Waste Team has been successfully partnering with schools since 2018 to implement strategies in schools that reduce the amount of food waste generated by cafeterias.

New Jersey became the first state in the nation to mandate climate education for K-12 public schools. In response, Rutgers Food Waste Team has developed curricula for fifth grades students that address food waste and its effects on the environment. Food waste reduction practices are framed as a solution to the growing environmental implications.

The goal of this program is to improve school administration and fifth grade students' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, toward adapting food waste reduction practices, and, ultimately, to reduce the amount of food waste produced by the schools in which they work.

Please reach out to Sabrina Subhit (sabrina.subhit@rutgers.edu) for more information or to refer potential candidates.