By ALEX KULTGEN
FHSU Global Leadership Project
The average student wastes 142 pounds of food per year.
During the past year, the Global Leadership Project (GLP) at Fort Hays State University has created an ongoing composting project, Trash Hunger Not Food, in conjunction with the university farm, the dining service contractor Chartwells, Dr. Brittany Howell, and the Clean and Green Program.
The goal of Trash Hunger Not Food is to reduce the environmental impact of FHSU by composting food waste produced in the McMindes Cafeteria. Composting is the first step to take in the fight to end campus food waste.
GLP partnered with the university Grounds Department which picks up the compostable trash from McMindes every two weeks. The compost will be used by the university farm in several ways, including for fertilizer.
The food waste, leftover food from the kitchen, is put into the trashcans by the cafeteria workers.
Trash Hunger Not Food prevented approximately 700 pounds of food waste from entering the landfill during the spring 2018 semester.
“This project allowed for a unique opportunity for GLP to partner with various on-campus organizations in order to bring composting to Fort Hays and to help reduce FHSU’s environmental footprint,” said student coordinator Reilly Franek. She is social work major from Elbert, Colorado and will be a senior in the fall.
This would not have been possible without the help of Jake VonLintel and the entire Ideal Refuse team, the staff at Chartwells, the university Grounds department, and the university farm. A special thank you goes to Dr. Howell, of the Department of Agriculture. Without her continued support of GLP and involvement with Trash Hunger Not Food, the GLP may not have been able to start this program.
For more information, GLP can be reached at 785-628-4497, [email protected], or in person at Custer Hall Room 208.
ABOUT GLP
The Global Leadership Project is an initiative of the Center for Civic Leadership and the Department of Leadership Studies that works to educate FHSU students to be forward thinking and world ready. GLP hosts events such as SWIPE Out Hunger and the Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) to educate and inspire FHSU students to make positive change in their local community and on a global scale.
Alex Kultgen is a political science major from Waco, Texas, and will be a junior this fall.