Report: Olympia School District students help save food and energy

Students from the Olympia School District (OSD) have worked on minimizing food waste and regulating energy use, as part of a program aimed at broadening the way in which they look at things.

Superintendent Patrick Murphy gave a report on the district’s progress on Outcome 6 — a program based on shared values and agreed-upon student outcomes.

“This outcome says that our students, our goal is that they will all be critical thinkers. They'll contribute to and collaborate with the local, global, and natural world, which is the whole idea of think globally, act locally,” said Murphy. 

Minimizing food waste 

The district highlighted ongoing and potential programs that contribute to food and energy savings. 

The district has engaged in a school-based farm-to-table program, scratch cooking, and the keeping of records to minimize food waste and environmental burden. 

Kristin Rolland, Director of Child Nutrition and Food Services, said summer school students experienced provision from the school’s farm. 

“Particularly this summer, the farm provided us with some of the most amazing food for the kids that were in summer school: fresh peas, fresh raspberries (and) romanesco,” Rolland said. 

Another method, scratch cooking, lets the district save money compared to purchasing more expensive prepared foods. 

Production records and data analysis have also played a huge role in guiding proper meal preparation in the district. 

“We plan our meals three months ahead, quite often, and making sure that we have the best vendor to get that meal, and that we're working with our team to understand how to plan for that meal,” Rolland added. 

The district also partnered with a food bank for repurposing food inventory that will not be used in the schools. 

Future initiatives include a wellness survey on dietary preferences and needs, and forming a wellness committee to update the district’s wellness procedure. 

Energy use regulation 

Frank Wilson, OSD Executive Director of Operations, discussed the district’s partnership with Puget Sound Energy via the Commercial Strategic Energy Management Program. 

Wilson said a goal was set for the district to save 13% of its energy over three years, but it has currently exceeded that goal.

The district is also entering into a V2X pilot project with Puget Sound Energy to install bi-directional chargers for electric buses.  

The report said the program is covering the cost of the transformer, groundwork and three new charging stations that will allow the energy stored on electric buses to be sent back to the electrical grid in times of high need. 

Five additional electric buses are also coming in September, after the district successfully applied for them. Two more bi-directional chargers will also be installed.