Agenda 01-20-2026; 12-7 - Information Item - Update on Orange County School Food Share Pilot Project

Browse Search

� 2 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA • Orange County Sustainability Program in partnership with the Food Security Program will provide signage to assist students and staff with the food recovery share program steps and guidelines. • The County team will also be glad to assist each school in donating excess food not consumed by the students or staff to a local food pantry.The goal is to minimize food waste as much as possible. Each participating school: • Designates a Program Administrator to oversee the program, coordinate daily operations, and manage volunteers or staff. • Provides Daily Supervision by at least one volunteer to monitor the collection cart during lunch or other meal times to ensure proper use. • Appoints a Stocker to organize recovered food after meals, remove any ineligible or spoiled items, relocate food to a centralized areal, and check and log refrigerator temperature daily. • Conducts Weekly Maintenance • Determines a Distribution Method o Schools can choose how to share recovered food with students: ■ Place items in a designated area and inform teachers/students ■ Distribute as part of daily or weekly snack breaks, depending on quantity Per The North Carolina Food Code definition of Food Establishment (1-201.10), staff and students are being informed of the items that are allowable to collect and redistribute to other students and staff if properly supervised to ensure packages remain untampered. The project team will be meeting with the school coordinators throughout the coming year to assess project impacts and needs that arise. Project feedback will inform whether or not the project will continue and determine the necessary resources to expand to additional schools across the County. 300 W.Tryon Street, Hillsborough, NC 27278 1 www.orangecountync.gov 1 919.245.2057