Marfell Community School leading in Closing the Loop

Marfell Community School tamariki, staff, and volunteers are closing the loop on school lunches with their composting programme. Two years ago, Marfell Community School tamariki began the Ka Ora, Ka Ako, Healthy School Lunches Programme, which aims to reduce food insecurity by providing access to a nutritious lunch in school every day. The school set a great standard with homemade healthy kai made by parent caterers.

However, two weeks after the Healthy School Lunch Programme rolled out, the school had to overcome a difficult and very smelly hurdle. Deli meats, cheese, soups, and bread are all items that are very hard to compost effectively in cold compost bins, and yet they are staples in student lunches. Joan, a loyal and energetic volunteer in her 70s was overwhelmed with the influx of food waste after those first couple of weeks, and suddenly her carefully managed compost bins turned into rancid-smelling maggot farms. 

The incorrect ratios in the compost mean that the food waste takes much longer to break down and thus attracts unwanted pests. The summer heat exacerbated the smell, and the high and complex needs tamariki were especially tormented by the flies since their classroom is next door to the garden.

“We even had a resident rat living in the compost bays...it wasn’t ideal,” notes a staff member.

It was clear after the first couple of weeks back at school that the haphazard dumping of food waste in the school garden could not continue. 

The unfortunate reality was that there was no solution put in place for the food waste. WasteMinz was the only commercial option; for $6 per day, they would pick up a bin outside of the school. Although this seems reasonable, the amount that would take from their already tight catering budget would equate to over $1000, meaning lower quality food, and cutting corners for our children. Not to mention, the emissions involved in transporting green waste to an offsite location contradicted lessons on lowering carbon footprints. 

Action Plan to Divert Food Waste

Everyone involved quickly put together an action plan, with the help of parent support, in order to divert the waste effectively, save on the catering budget, and maximise the use of the school garden. Most importantly, it was a practical learning opportunity for all of the children at the school, as they would be included in the waste diversion efforts. 

First, the odorous, infested compost was emptied into one of the raised garden beds, then covered with layers of cardboard and grass clippings, and topped with topsoil and hay. Red onion seedlings were planted and harvested the size of grapefruit just a couple of months later.  The flies disappeared once the ratios of the compost bins were corrected by layering grass clippings, hay, and soaked cardboard. 

Next, a plan to employ a student-led bin system followed and each classroom received airtight buckets purchased and labeled with photos of vegetables and fruit. A second set of buckets were labeled with meat, bread, and dairy photos. They also allocated bins for paper and cardboard. Students from each class were assigned tasks on rotation to empty the buckets to their correct locations. 

The fruit and vegetable buckets go into the compost bin marked with a “Feed me” sign, and the meat, dairy, and bread bucket are emptied into a pig bucket, a large sealable bin that permanently sits outside of the kitchen. This bin is picked up two or three times a week by a local pig farmer, free of charge. In exchange for the scraps, he cleans the bin and returns a fresh one. There are two bins on rotation to ensure there is always one at the school grounds, and the caterer communicates with the pig farmers on a Facebook group dedicated to the coordination of scrap pickups. Pig farmers were surprisingly abundant and willing after a post was made on the New Plymouth Buy and Sell Facebook page. 

Workshop opportunities were offered for the teachers during staff meetings, such as how to use paper and cardboard in the garden. Just 15 minutes of education about soaking cardboard and layering it, and discussing the correct ratios of 70% carbon (browns) and 30% nitrogen (greens) helped elevate the learning for the teachers and tamariki, translating their routines into purposeful action. A Let’s Compost Workshop coordinated by Sustainable Taranaki was held for all parents and teachers later in that first term as a way to support at-home composting and provide a $40 discount to systems such as Bokashi, worm farms, and cold compost bays. 

Marfell School is proof that we can work together to transform our food and waste systems into something rich, sustainable, and wholesome for our children, our communities, and our planet.

After two years of progress, volunteer support, and working with the tamariki, the school garden now enjoys a free supply of rich soil. The children also eat from the maara (garden). “New dishes like rainbow salad and the experience of pulling fresh carrots from the soil are eagerly described at the dinner table by our children,” notes a parent. The community is providing their children with healthy kai, cooked by local parents, and they are also composting and growing beautiful fruit, herbs, and vegetables used over and over in their meals. To go further, the lunches are served in reusable closed-top trays with compartments. These are collected and hand-washed daily. 

When NPDC learned of the Marfell School success story, they asked to use this example to develop a model for other nearby schools receiving similar funding for the Healthy School Lunches Programme. “While every school is unique, the challenge of closing the waste loop is one they all share. We hope that we can all use the inspirational example that Marfell School has set to create similar positive outcomes in other schools.” Mia Salazar, Minimisation Adviser at NPDC.

Any schools part of the Health School Lunches Programme that is interested in reducing their waste can get in touch at contact@zerowastetaranaki.org.nz.

With the kind support of the New Plymouth District Council’s (NPDC)  Zero Waste Team, Sustainable Taranaki, and Dominos Moturoa, the school was given a pizza party to celebrate the children’s efforts at the end of last term. Oliver Leuthart (Ollie) and Mia Salazar, from the NPDC Zero Waste Team, presented an award to mana leaders, Zoe Berry and Kayla Corp. The children were then presented with their surprise pizza celebration. All of the pizza boxes were used in the school garden to line the new raised beds.  Marfell School is proof that we can work together to transform our food and waste systems into something rich, sustainable, and wholesome for our children, our communities, and our planet.

Learn more about the Marfell Community Garden, neighbouring the school, or find one near you!

Would you like to volunteer in the Marfell Community? Please get in touch by emailing info@sustainabletaranaki.org.nz