"Best Practices" Manual For
Food Recovery and Gleaning

         Participating Schools

Hewlett-Woodmere Union Free School District
Hewlett, New York

          Helping to feed the hungry is a project that has been undertaken enthusiastically by the students at Hewlett-Woodmere Union Free School District in Hewlett, New York. These students didn’t let the fact that they reside in an affluent neighborhood stop them from taking the initiative to assist with feeding the needy.

          In the 1997-1998 school year the students at Hewlett-Woodmere who were involved in the "Rock and Wrap It Up! School Program" decided that they wanted to further help the needy people in their school district area. The "Rock and Wrap It Up! School Program" involves young student volunteers assisting musicians (bands) backstage to collect the concert’s excess catered food to donate to the needy. The students at Hewlett-Woodmere approached the faculty to ask if their district could also participate in the local Hunger Relief effort to help feed the needy. The faculty agreed and the students borrowed "Rock and Wrap It Up!" coolers to start the food recovery project. The school district used the USDA funds to purchase their own coolers and other storage and handling equipment.

          Under their food recovery project, students and staff developed a plan for assisting with the local Hunger Relief effort. Thus, a decision was made to freeze any portion of prepared cafeteria food that could not be served the next day in plastic ziplock bags or recycled plastic containers. Ms. Emily Rein, Cafeteria Director, stated "the high school students use their own vehicles to pick up the coolers of frozen food every Friday afternoon and deliver it to the Five Towns Community Center." This Center offers a variety of multi-social and economic services, including donated foods to needy families and individuals. The center’s food recovery project liaison, Ms. Annie Reyes, stated that the Hewlett-Woodmere district provides approximately 100-150 pounds per week of donated food to the center for the needy. This donated food, combined with other community donations, allows the center to prepare a lunch for senior citizens, a snack for the after school program participants as well as supplying 80-100 families with miscellaneous food items to take home for a meal. In addition, the school district is planning to place coolers in the school cafeterias to retrieve unopened cartons of milk that the children do not drink. New York has no health regulations prohibiting the retrieval of milk for food recovery as long as the milk is unopened.

          The Hewlett-Woodmere public school district staff teaches food safety to its students and considers community service an integral part of their educational enterprise. USDA funds were also used to develop informational materials that are used to teach and integrate food safety and food recovery into their curriculum. The Hewlett-Woodmere Union Free School District is proud of their efforts to assist in the Hunger Relief effort by partnering and working cooperatively with the Five Towns Community Center. The USDA funds have enabled them to support this project and make it a success.