Minimizing and Diverting a Soup Kitchen’s Food Waste
Client
Church of the Holy Apostles
Faculty
Kevin Hansen
Team
Grace Do, Zachary Harr, Caitlin Krow, Nathaniel Moldoff
| Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen (HASK), the largest emergency food program in New York, feeds and supports the city’s homeless and hungry. HASK enlisted a Capstone team to track, minimize, and repurpose food waste generated by the soup kitchen. The team conducted a food waste audit and environmental scan to quantify HASK’s food waste, identify the key sources of that waste, and benchmark findings against comparable organizations. The team connected HASK to a program run by the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) called Organics Collection, which delivers compostable waste from regular landfill pick-ups to other facilities for processing into compost or renewable energy. Identifying the program as an ideal mechanism for HASK to repurpose its waste, the team accompanied HASK to an implementation meeting with DSNY and a visit to a public school enrolled in the program to learn about the service. By joining the Organics Collection, HASK will be able to divert more than 25 tons of organic waste from landfill to compost annually. Finally, the team provided next-step recommendations for reducing food waste as HASK continues their sustainability efforts. |
Focus Areas
Capstone Year
2017-2018