Make the Most of Food @Home

MCPS students only: Join the world’s largest food action research team now!

About our Current Project: Make the Most of Food 2024!

During the seriously fun 6-week Make the Most of Food action research course starting Friday, January 19, a selected team of five Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) students will receive virtual leadership training and then recruit teams of households and lead them in completing a 4-week household food waste challenge. In the 4 week challenge, households track 7 days of data on discarded food. Households then share ideas, take action, and measure results through tracking another 7 days of discarded food data. Each student leader will receive a $100 cash award if the whole team motivates at least 100 people to complete the challenge and reports a combined food waste reduction of at least 50%. Students will have the opportunity to participate in (4) online facilitated team meetings and share detailed feedback to inform the Make the Most of Food action research project. Leaders who complete the course will have the opportunity to present findings and recommendations to government decision-makers and academics in the food waste field. No previous leadership or research experience is necessary. This course is part of the Make the Most of Food action research project led by Recycle Leaders. The course instructor, Erin Petersen, is a recent MCPS graduate and experienced Make the Most of Food action project leader. For more information see the Course Page. To apply, fill out this form by Monday, January 8.

 
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About the Action Research Project

The Make the Most of Food @ Home Action Research Project provides step-by-step instructions and a day-by-day calendar to guide participants in completing a 4-week action research project at the household level and contributing to our collective impact.

So far, more than 300 people - including educators, green team leaders, and high school student leaders - have participated in this project, resulting in a collective reduction in discarded food by participating households of approximately 50%.

Sign up to participate in the 4 week action research project - which you can take online on demand anytime! - learn to lead your household in tracking what, why, and how much food you discard in a week and then take actions together that can improve nutrition, save money, and reduce waste. Reduced food waste is the #1 climate change solution according to Project Drawdown and households are the largest contributor to municipal food waste!

This online project is offered by Recycle Leaders and was developed in partnership with the Audubon Naturalist Society based on the EPA's Food too Good to Waste toolkit. This project has received funding from the DC Office of State Superintendent of Education and is informed by lessons learned from the Team Up on Food Waste @ DC Wards 7 and 8 action research project funded by Sustainable DC.

Take Action!

Any household: Sign up for our 4 week action research project!

 

We have seriously impactful fun!

Way to go more than 200 team leaders and participants who completed the Make the Most of Food (Remote) Challenge Earth Month 2021! Together we reduced our discarded food by 52%. We had serious fun together!

 
 

Team Leader Testimonials Earth Month 2021

Virtual Awards Ceremony Earth Month 2021

We’re famous!

Check out this case study about our action researchers from DC wards 7 and 8 who helped design this challenge!

The Team Up on Food Waste @ DC Wards 7 and 8 action research project was a partnership with Loop Closing and Soilful City funded in summer 2020 by Sustainable DC.

Thanks to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) for sharing our story in English, en Français, and en Español.

Learn from more CEC case studies and resources here!

 
 

We’re global!

In 2021 we welcomed participation from Spain and India, and across the United States from 6 states and the District of Columbia. Let’s see how we can grow in 2022. We look forward to learning together how to support local efforts globally!

 

What made the Make the Most of Food Challenge different was that … the challenge was designed to help me help myself…”

— Erin Petersen, Student and Green Team Leader, Northwest High School, Montgomery County Public Schools (Winner, Most Replicable Solution, 2021 challenge) & Now: Recycle Leaders Social Media Manager

“…it is a real life practical way to be involved with science in a meaningful way…”

— Alison Ewing, Pre-K Teacher, Green Team Leader @ Burroughs Elementary School (Winner, Most Replicable Solution, 2020 challenge)

Sponsor a youth leader !

K-12 educators: leading project-based learning?

Check out our course for K-12 teachers to learn to lead this COVID-proof remote civic / climate action project with groups of students.

We support educators, green teams, and school districts.

Contact us to inquire about our offerings!

FAQs

Who can participate ? Anyone can participate!

What is the Make the Most of Food challenge? The Make the Most of Food action research project is a fun remote competition designed to inspire households to take action to improve nutrition, save money, and reduce food waste. During the 4-week challenge, each participating household collects seven days of baseline data on discarded food, uses this data to take action to make better use of food, collects "after" data, and shares results.  The procedures are designed for easy participation without any special supplies.

How do we measure success? We measure the volume of discarded food that could have been eaten but wasn’t. That is, food that was bought but spoiled before it was eaten or prepared (e.g. a rotten banana), or food that was prepared but went uneaten (e.g. moldy banana bread).

How does this help teachers and students? The Make the Most of Food challenge provides teachers and students with an action research project appropriate for remote learning that can easily be standards-aligned. It is modeled after the DC-wide "DC Reduce First! Challenges" for schools. This is a positive alternative for students who prior to schools closing for COVID-19 would have planned to participate in on-site action campaigns.

Who wins? Everyone wins when we all make the most of food! Together all participants will contribute to the United States’s aim of Winning on Reducing Food Waste which is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 target of halving global food waste by 2030.

 Partners