Hughson High School Food System

Being that our campus farm would not be able to immediately produce all the crops we need, we would have to have the campus food services buy locally grown or produced food, organic produce, and purchase food in bulk or with less packaging in order to proceed with promoting more sustainable food. Currently, most of the food found in Hughson High School’s cafeteria is the product of an unsustainable food system. The food that comes from an unsustainable food system causes environmental damages such as destroying soil, its dependence on foreign oil, contamination of water, and reducing the ability to even grow crops at all. Food is delivered to Hughson High School by Sysco food trucks. The vehicle exhaust from commuting to and from Hughson High

While Hughson High School is constantly spending money for the fruits and vegetables served in the cafeteria, we have an agriculture department located right on campus that grows fresh fruits and vegetables. The crops that are grown are then sold at the Farmer’s Market. However, most of the time, the crops put up for sell end up not being sold and are distributed for free between teachers, shelters, and donated elsewhere besides our school’s cafeteria. In the long run, we are wasting crops and we don’t even realize

During both breakfast and lunch, students are expected to take either a fruit or vegetable as a part of their meal whether they are going to eat it or not. Most of the time students tell the cafeteria ladies they do not want to take an item since they will not eat it, being that it is usually not fresh or too frozen to eat, but as a result they are forced to take the fruit or vegetable after being repeatedly told to do so. Consequently, since the food is usually not fresh and the student do not want it in the first place, the fruit or vegetable is either wasted and thrown away or ends up on the ground or in the planters located around school. Students and staff at Hughson High School can all make a difference two times a day, each time we eat. Besides bringing in freshly grown crops to Hughson High School, the school could provide samples of the food being served. As a result of this transition, the school would save a lot food as well as decreasing the amount of food waste and pollution caused by the scraps of food left over. Providing samples of the food being served would allow students to pick an entrée they will actually eat rather than having the students choose items of food they don’t like and will