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Over the course of the year, MENV will feature various Capstone Projects to keep the community updated on the accomplishments of our students and partner organizations. The Capstone is the centerpiece of the MENV program and is a year-long project that partners students with an organization from the public, private, or non-profit sector. Students gain real-world, professional experience that serves as a springboard for their future careers.

Capstone Project: Food Waste Awareness Week

Partner Organization: City of Boulder

Student Team: Sarah Ditton and Skye Fabrizio 

Food Waste Awareness Week, a partnership between the City of Boulder and Boulder County, grew in its outreach and impact in its second year thanks to MENV students Sarah Ditton and Skye Fabrizio. In partnership with Jamie Harkins with the City of Boulder Climate Initiatives team, the group drove the effort to create robust events and a social media campaign in order to drive awareness for their topic, food waste.     

As Sustainable Food Systems students in the MENV program, focusing on food waste was a way to explore a symptom of what they believe is an unjust food system. For Sarah, food waste is the reason she decided to be a part of the MENV program. She found her passion for food waste after graduating from Cornell and volunteering at a food rescue organization, “All I did was sort raspberries, but it was one of the most satisfying experiences I had ever had because everyone was so passionate and excited to be working on something they believed in.” For Skye, the links between food waste and food security drive her passion for this project. Skye explained, "After realizing that around 40% of food produced is not eaten and 13% of Colorado’s population suffers from food insecurity, it seems like an incredibly silly problem. Crafting ways to waste less food by feeding more people and reducing greenhouse gas emissions need to be at the forefront of our nation’s food policy initiatives."

The pair spent their summer creating three main events for Food Waste Awareness Week; a “Food Waste Challenge" for local restaurants, encouraging the use of World Wildlife Fund weeklong lesson plans for Boulder Valley School District schools, and hosting several panels focused on various aspects of the food system. The keynote event, Talking Food Waste: Moving the Conversation Forward, was the highlight of the week. Sarah and Skye worked hard to bring a group of experts together to talk about the necessary change in implementing ideas and solutions in the food waste space, while also inspiring action. The event had a great turnout and sparked loads of excitement for many members of the audience.

We caught up with Sarah and Skye at the end of the week to ask the one thing the public needs to do to have better food waste practices. “Vote!” they say, “Ask questions of politicians. No politician should be voted into office unless they have a comprehensive food policy that steers our food system to one that takes care of us and the planet instead of corporate interests. After you’ve done this, on an individual level, don’t feel scared to ask for smaller portion sizes and make sure to eat your leftovers!” If you’d like to learn more about food waste, start by exploring the content on their website, . We’ll be sure to keep you posted on details for next year’s event. Awesome job on a fantastic capstone project, Sarah and Skye!