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A Foodshed Analysis of the Cache County School District: The Water/Energy/Food Nexus

Array ( [0] => HONR Think Tank Spring 2016 [1] => no-show [2] => student exhibit )

THE WATER/ENERGY/FOOD NEXUS

HONRS16group5-SchoolLunch.jpg
The Water/Energy/Food Nexus highlights the interdependency of the water, energy and food systems. For example, in order for food to go from farm to table, it requires water and fuels in almost every aspect of production. Through careful analysis of where these systems intersect, improvements can be determined.

 

Cache County and the Water/Energy/Food Nexus

Strengths

Improvements Needed
  • Both fresh and canned produce items for the school district’s foodservice are from a medium-sized local company in Salt Lake City.
  • Utilization of the SWBEC, a wastewater treatment plant in West Logan. Local produce, municipal, swine and dairy waste is sent there to be treated.
  • Kids are being educated on the importance of eating healthy, non-processed foods.
  • The School Lunch Program in Cache County recently enacted a program that would add a mandatory 1/2 cup of fruits or vegetables to every school lunch.

 
  • Major beef, pork and chicken products are shipped in from major companies such as Sysco, Tyson and JTM.
    • Excess energy and water used in the production vs. local foods
  • Logan is an agricultural city, utilization of more local farms or farmer’s markets for the food within the school district.
  • Since 1/2 cup of fruits and vegetables are required as part of the school lunch mission statement, there has been an increase in food waste within the schools.  On an average day at Bridger Elementary, a Logan School District elementary school, approximately 470 servings of fruit or vegetables were tossed, meaning nearly all of the 482 children wasted this portion of their meal (Alyssa Reidhead, 2016).

 

To learn more about the Water/Energy/Food Nexus, click here.