Students Rescuing Food: Food for Thought Program

Mount Presbyterian School students make sandwiches for delivery to Toco Hills Community Alliance.

Editor’s Note: As of April 2017, there are 12 schools participating in the Food for Thought School Program:The Atlanta Academy, Atlanta Girls’ School, Atlanta Jewish Academy, Atlanta Speech School, The Davis Academy, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal, The Lovett School, Mount Bethel Christian Academy, Mount Vernon Presbyterian School, Paideia, Trinity School, The Westminster Schools and the Weber School.

In May 2016, Second Helpings Atlanta (SHA) delivered its 5,000,000th pound of food to agencies serving food insecure individuals and families in metro Atlanta. That milestone was the perfect opportunity to reflect with pride on the positive results we’ve had since our founding in 2004.

Pace Academy Lower School students love rescuing food!
Pace Academy Lower School students love rescuing food!

As we looked back, we dreamed of ways we could increase our impact on hunger and food waste going forward. With that in mind, SHA proudly introduces its Food for Thought Program. This program is focused on recruiting the next generation of volunteers to fight hunger, offering students, teachers, parents and school administrators an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. The program’s objectives are to EDUCATE students about hunger, food waste and the environmental impacts of wasted food; INSPIRE students to rescue nutritious food for those in need; and ENGAGE them in the process, providing meaningful volunteer opportunities. Schools can adopt a food rescue route, picking up and delivering cafeteria food to SHA Partner Agencies. They can also serve with SHA in community service projects that assist hungry families and individuals throughout metro Atlanta.

Do you know a school that might be interested in participating in the Food for Thought Program? If so, please contact our Executive Director, Joe Labriola, at director@secondhelpings.info. The more we spread the word about the important work Second Helpings Atlanta is doing, the greater our impact will be on the fight against hunger and food waste.