St. Catherine CES students tackle food waste in Peterborough
By Niki Anastasakis – CHEX News
The question that was posed to Mrs. Piotrowski’s Grade 5 class for their deep learning project was, “What action can you take to help heal the planet?”
A group of five students from Mrs. Piotrowski’s Grade 5 class at St. Catherine’s Catholic Elementary School have decided to complete their project on the topic of food waste.
“Me and my group feel that we are helping the planet by reducing food waste and helping the homeless,” said student Zoie Wallace.
The project began before March break. Its aim is to give back to the environment, all while learning communication and organizational skills and how to set goals.
Led by parent volunteers, the group set up meetings with the Brock Mission, and both Foodland on Sherbrooke Street and the Real Canadian Superstore at Lansdowne Place in Peterborough to start donating food that would normally be thrown out.
“We basically said, ‘you’re wasting this much food and this could be going to the homeless,’” said Wallace.
So far, the Real Canadian Superstore on Lansdowne Street has contributed five donations. Foodland is currently working out their donations.
Brock mission program manager Trent Anderson says the shelter serves nearly 1,000 meals a week, so this initiative is a big help.
“It was a pleasure interacting with (the students) because they were trying to do something great for the environment and reducing food waste but also for the community,” Anderson said.
The students ultimately hope that this becomes a long-term partnership with Brock Mission and grocery stores to continue providing food.