Mamaroneck School District’s Food Rescue Success

Mamaroneck Union Free School District (MUFSD) donated over 10,000 lbs of surplus food to those in need in an afterschool program and nearby food pantries from September 2019 until June 2022. This is equivalent to about 8,000 meals over almost three years, based on Feeding America’s estimate of 1.2lbs of food per meal. Before the school district’s COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church’s afterschool program in Port Chester received most of MUFSD’s food donations. Subsequently, HOPE Community Services in New Rochelle became the main recipient of the school district’s food donations. 

The Love Your Food grant and its partnership with the school district spurred on MUFSD’S food rescue effort. It has been the fruit of collaboration among multiple organizations and individuals, including Town of Mamaroneck’s Sustainability Collaborative, MUFSD, Aramark (MUFSD’s former food services provider), Feeding America, K-12 Food Rescue, Greenburgh Nature Center, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Port Chester, and HOPE Community Services in New Rochelle. It also built upon the earlier food rescue experiences of MUFSD’s PTA parents from Green Tigers sub-committees across the school district.

MHS students and siblings, Liam (12th grade) and Ayden Manley (9th grade) picked up 300 lbs of food donations (5 boxes of frozen carrots and 5 boxes of frozen broccoli) from Mamaroneck High School kitchen for delivery to HOPE Community Services in New Rochelle on March 17, 2021.

Collection of surplus food from MUFSD kitchens and students’ food share baskets in schools’ cafeterias donated to St. Peter’s Church Afterschool Program in Port Chester, January 28, 2020.