The Associated Students of Madison Sustainability Committee had its first meeting of the fall semester Wednesday to discuss possible campaigns for the year.
Student Caryn Clark introduced the group to the Food Recovery Network, a national organization that reduces food waste on college campuses by transporting surplus food from dining halls and restaurants to a food pantry.
Clark said she has begun to reach out to university dining halls to share her idea and mentioned before the project can get underway she needs to find transportation to bring the food from the dining halls to the pantries.
Committee Vice Chair Aida Ebrahimi also discussed the Edible Landscape project, which established a series of community gardens on campus to promote awareness about local food.
The project encompasses six plots placed in various areas around campus in an initiative to introduce to students how to take advantage of fresh food.
Other campaigns included the Traceless Takeout Project, focused on removing cardboard boxes from dining halls, as well as the Receipt Reduction Campaign, an effort to reduce paper usage by eliminating the automatic printing of receipts.
Sustainability Committee Chair Kyla Kaplan also discussed continuing work on the Green Fund, established last year.
Compiled of student segregated fees, the Green Fund allows registered student organizations to apply for grants for environmental projects.
Kaplan emphasized the importance of student involvement with the Green Fund, as well as with the campaigns overall.
“We really want to hear what you want to see happen,” Kaplan said.
The committee will meet again next Wednesday to continue its discussion.
