Table of Contents
- The Problem With Disposables
- The Reusable Solution
- The Journey
- Successes and Challenges
- Lessons Learned
- Contact Information
The Problem With Disposables
Most schools serve lunch on disposable trays, and the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) is no exception. Historically, FUSD has served all lunches on disposable trays alongside a plastic spork kit, which includes a spork, straw, and paper napkin encased in plastic. These single-use trays present two problems.
- They contain harmful chemicals known as PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, that can leach into food, posing potential health risks to students.
- They are designed as single-use products that contribute significantly to environmental waste.
Reliance on these single-use items emphasized the urgent need for sustainable alternatives that prioritize student and ecological well-being.
The Reusable Solution
![School lunch served on stainless steel reusable trays.]](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_large_350x350_/public/2025-05/Image%203%20lunch%20on%20reusable%20trays_0.png.webp?itok=Wt8HEKLL)
Understanding the problem made it easy to see reusables as the solution. Reusable stainless steel lunch trays and utensils don’t transfer chemicals to the food and offer numerous benefits. Unlike single-use products, reusable options have a much lower environmental footprint. Schools can save money over time by opting for reusable trays, as these durable items can be used repeatedly. Moreover, encouraging environmentally friendly practices, such as promoting the use of reusables, reflects a commitment by students, parents, and staff to sustainability and the responsible use of resources.
The Journey
About Fremont Unified School District
The Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) is located in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Featuring a diverse student population, predominantly from Indian and Asian backgrounds, we are the second largest school district in Alameda County. FUSD serves approximately 33,000 students across 41 campuses, covering a large geographic area divided into five regions. All food is prepared at each of the five regional high schools and delivered to elementary schools. All campuses subscribe to recycling and composting services and have a food share table at breakfast and lunch.
Harnessing the Power of Students
FUSD is known for strong student participation, with seven California Distinguished Schools and a high rate of college-bound students. The FUSD Board is fortunate and grateful to have such an active student body. The Roosevelt Resolution, a zero-waste to landfill resolution, directly resulted from the Thornton Middle School Energy & Sustainability Club and motivated the district to act on reusables! They saw the disconnect between the school district’s sustainability messaging and the use of plastic in school lunches, prompting them to advocate for change. The students continue to be a driving force behind the positive environmental changes the district is making.
Recognizing the Right Time
A successful school lunch transition is no doubt a challenge - many elements had to come together for successful implementation. Before reusables, we faced supply chain inventory issues with single-use trays, which the new Child Nutrition Services Director was eager to fix. The Center of Environmental Health, a local non-profit, offered to test our disposable compostable trays for harmful synthetic chemicals at no cost. All of these factors, combined with a County Waste Management Authority grant, allowed us to create an actionable plan to pilot the implementation of reusables in 10 of our 29 elementary schools.
Creating Partnerships
Transitioning to reusables wouldn’t be possible without creating partnerships with local and national organizations and relying on our existing partners. The following is a list of our partners who were instrumental in our transition to reusables. Click on the logo to go directly to their website for more information.
The City of Fremont’s Environmental Services Department has a long-standing partnership with FUSD. By providing technical support in various forms, such as ClearStreams (3-bin sorting system) for special events, our students and staff’s success in environmental efforts makes this a city people want to be a part of. They provided a portion of the initial upfront costs of the reusables and any additional signage for cafeteria containers.
Center for Environmental Health is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting public health from exposure to toxic chemicals. They tested our disposable foodware for harmful chemicals and introduced us to new partners needed for the reusables program.
Due to FUSD not having on-site dishwashers at the elementary schools, we used DishJoy’s commercial-grade dishwashing services. They drop off clean dishes and pick up the dirty ones every night.
Ahimsa 5-compartment, stainless-steel trays have zero chemical transfer to food, are dishwasher safe, and are built to last. Furthermore, the design is similar to what a lot of our Indian students use at home, which makes the dining experience a bit more comfortable. They also provided Conscious Cafeteria curriculum for our teachers.
StopWaste works with students, teachers, and school district staff across Alameda County to become leaders in waste prevention and practicing the 4Rs in our daily lives: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot. They supported our student assemblies by providing an educational mascot called Wiggle E. Worm.
Plastic Free Restaurants removes single-use plastics from restaurants and schools by subsidizing the purchase of reusable alternatives. They provided the majority of the upfront cost to our reusable trays and utensils and condiment pumps. They may also provide additional orders of utensils from your loss rate at the end of the first year.
The EcoHero Show is a unique, exciting way to get students excited about learning how they can help change the world and become EcoHero themselves. They performed at some of our kickoff assemblies and are possibly creating a new song about reusables.
As we were focused on making this change a reality, we partnered with a research team from the University of California’s Nutrition Policy Institute. They collected food and solid waste data at the 10 elementary schools that received reusables and 10 additional elementary schools to compare and understand the impact this change would have on the students and staff. They also provided nutrition education to our 5th grader classes and hosted a poster competition.
Building a District Green Team
To implement the reusables pilot, we created a district green team. The green team was essential for coordinating efforts within multiple departments. Below are the key stakeholders in the program’s success:
● Child Nutrition Services Department
● Operations & Grounds - Custodial Staff
● Principals
● FUSD Board
● Maintenance Department
● Purchasing Department
● Warehouse Department
● Parent Teacher Association
The shared goal created relationships that continued to other areas where more sustainable efforts were needed and wanted. Now, stakeholders include district directors of Facilities, Operations & Grounds, Maintenance, Child Nutrition Services, Curriculum & Instruction, Technology, Business Services, Transportation, and the Recycling Coordinator, who meet regularly to share department updates on sustainability efforts and how to work together on large projects and programs.
Tips for Program Kickoff
The success of implementing reusables relies on a smooth transition involving students and food service workers. We asked food service staff to modify their workflow and changed student habits around lunch clean-up. The following activities helped prepare our students and staff for the change and to generate excitement about the reusables!
School-Wide Assemblies
A school assembly allowed us to educate the entire student body and staff about the change to reusables at lunchtime and why it’s so important. This provided an opportunity to highlight the district’s message that it’s not okay to use something once every school day and throw it out. With the support of StopWaste and EcoHero Show, the assemblies were not just educational - they were inspirational and fun!
Waste Station Set-Up & Lunch Monitor Support
Setting up a central waste station is essential for simplifying the sorting process for students. Over the years, it’s become a consistent setup used by all the elementary schools. Referencing the photo above, starting from the left, we have a liquid bucket where students are directed to pour their leftover milk and juice, followed by a landfill bin, a recycling bin, and a compost bin, and ending with a container for the stainless steel trays and another container for placing their stainless steel utensils. These grey crates are the only difference the students had to adjust to, instead of a table or crate for stacking the disposable trays.
A common concern with reusables is that students might accidentally throw them away, particularly the utensils. Therefore, we monitored the waste station during the initial week of the transition. We also reiterated the importance of taking care of our new, special diningware at the kickoff assembly. Students quickly adapted to the extra step of placing the trays and utensils in their designated containers.
Successes and Challenges
Reusable trays and utensils were positively received across staff, principals, and parents! However, even successful programs face challenges that must be overcome. Here are some barriers we faced:
Funding
Finding funding opportunities was our first priority. The approximate cost per tray and utensil was 40 cents, and school district budgets are notoriously tight and fluctuating, so navigating grants and funding opportunities is pivotal. These resources may come from federal, state, county, regional, corporate, or non-profit sectors. Reaching out to partners and researching potential new partners makes a huge difference in your ability to move forward with a pilot program.
Receiving Board Approval
Receiving Board approval wasn’t necessarily a barrier, but more of an important step that couldn’t be overlooked. Preparing a well thought out presentation to outline the implementation plan allowed the board members to hear the ask from the students, grasp the need for the change, and provide a roadmap on how to get us there. We were able to address the board’s questions and concerns, and the transition was approved with full board support and enthusiasm.
Scheduling Site Visits
Site visits are essential for envisioning the program and connecting with the people closest to its success. It took some finessing to work around everyone’s availability and the school bell schedules to hold constructive planning meetings. Mapping out areas to stage the dirty dishes and access for Dishjoy to retrieve the dishes was critical for everyone to understand the new daily procedures.
County Health Department Approval
Our biggest hurdle came a year after we started the pilot program. The County Health Department required us to pause the use of reusables for 55 days to navigate the approval process for foodware being washed by Dishjoy in our county. Despite providing the county with Dishjoy’s Issue of Variance from their county and Dishjoy’s Standards of Operation (SOP) before launching the program, we did not receive a response. Additionally, although Dishjoy was being utilized in nearby school districts, the novelty of the program led the county to question whether state approval was necessary. Thankfully, the state clearly stated that Dishjoy should not be considered a food vendor and authorized each jurisdiction (each individual county health department) to decide on its approval. Our approval was granted with the condition to display Dishjoy’s Standards of Operations (SOP) and temperature in the school kitchens for health inspectors to review.
Lessons Learned
Taking a step towards reusables is a big change that requires a good portion of time. It’s a process that doesn’t happen overnight, so patience and persistence are essential. We spent about 10 months preparing and planning before making any changes.
Hindsight is always 20/20, so looking back, here are a few recommendations:
- Establish a point person to coordinate between the different departments, vendors, and partners. This could be a district department head, a consultant, or a dedicated parent, as long as they can navigate the collaboration process with all the stakeholders and pivot when needed.
- A program of this magnitude involves many moving parts. Strong communication and coordination are essential to keeping everything on track, as numerous individuals (including different district departments, school staff, and outside vendors) are required to make the program work. Constant communication was key to overcoming any confusion with the process!
- Be aware of the school's unique culture regarding program adjustments. At FUSD, we didn’t realize that removing plastic straws would impact students' habit of using straws to drink milk. They started taking straws from juice boxes at the food share table. We addressed this issue in our kickoff assemblies, emphasizing the need to reduce plastic straws. We advised against taking them from juice boxes, explained how to use milk cartons as spouts, and encouraged students to ask lunchroom monitors for assistance.
- Scheduling waste audit lessons with the 4th-grade classes is a great way to involve students in data collection directly. It highlights the waste diversion efforts from switching to reusables, how well they reduce food waste, and where improvements can be made. This data also provides the district with service adjustments that can be made with waste hauling.
- Be aware of applicable grants and funding opportunities. Funding was crucial for us to implement the pilot, obtain board approval, and secure district staff buy-in. It also played a significant role in paying for the initial cost of the reusables. Maintaining the dishwashing service is our most considerable ongoing cost, preventing us from expanding the program beyond 10 elementary schools. Funding from the federal Universal School Meal Program is used to cover the general maintenance of the reusable program costs. Our long-term goal is to build a centralized kitchen with industrialized washing capabilities and employ our staff to wash the reusables.
- As with any pilot program, there’s a period to monitor how well things are operating. Maintain close communication with the school site's key players, kitchen staff, and custodians, so that you can make adjustments as needed. Ensure that everyone is comfortable with the changes and has all the necessary resources. This enables you to receive indispensable feedback from the people who are closest to the program.
- Allow sufficient time to obtain approval from the relevant entities. FUSD required board approval to initiate the pilot and case study with the Nutrition Policy Institute. As you may have experienced, board agenda items can sometimes be pushed out to a different month, so plan accordingly. Our County Health Department approval process was unprecedented, which led to a pause in our program. However, thanks to our trailblazing efforts, the California State Health Department is now aware that an increasing number of school districts may opt for a dishwashing service.
Contact Information
Starting the move to ditching disposables might feel daunting and overwhelming at first, but it is important to remember that you are not alone! Knowledge, power, and persistence are key. Other districts are paving the way and sharing their experiences to hopefully create an easier transition for you. If you have additional questions about our journey, please contact:
Stephanie Willits
FUSD District Recycling Coordinator
swillits@fusdk12.net
This work is supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant, project award no. 2020-68015-30736, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.