We're hiring - join the bg视讯 Team!

June 23, 2022
Posted in bg视讯

 

Work at bg视讯 Food Access and Food Scrap Drop-off Sites! 

Are you passionate about food access, local agriculture & food systems, and/or mitigating climate change through waste reduction and composting?  

bg视讯 is currently hiring field staff for immediate start to work at Greenmarkets, Farmstands, and Food Scrap Drop-off Sites. 

We have multiple openings for immediate start, especially in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  

See below for more info on each position and click each job title to view the detailed job description. 

Compost Coordinator & Compost Coordinator - Bronx & Bilingual Spanish $19/hour (part-time)  
Compost Coordinators are responsible for collecting food scraps and conducting outreach each week at their assigned FSDOs. They promote food-scrap diversion for composting as an alternative to conventional waste disposal and educate NYC residents on a wide variety of waste reduction and landfill diversion topics. 

Compost Driver $26/hour (part-time) 
Compost Drivers are responsible for the hauling and delivery of food scraps and supplies between food scrap drop-off sites and local compost processing facilities. Qualified candidates combine a passion for waste reduction and landfill diversion with the practical skills needed to transport food scraps through NYC. 

Seasonal Market Manager $19/hour (part-time and full-time)  
Market Managers are Greenmarket’s representatives to the public. On a daily basis, they work to build healthy communities and create an environment where local farmers can sell their products and keep their farms viable. The Market Manager position is seasonal and is comprised of three equally important pillars – operations, promotions, and food access. 

Seasonal Farmstand Site Staff $19 or $20/hour (part-time) 
The Farmstand Staff will help sell fruits, vegetables, and other products outdoors throughout New York City under the supervision of the Farmstand Site Lead (rotating position.) The Farmstand Staff will be cross trained on all aspects of the Farmstand Site Lead role,and may be asked to fill in as the Lead as necessary. Please note that some Site Lead locations require driving and therefore a drivers license. The Farmstand Staff position is seasonal and is part-time or full-time depending on availability of applicant. 

Click here to view all job openings and apply now! 

Note to applicants on COVID safety: bg视讯 is committed to stopping the spread of Covid-19. All new hires must be able to provide proof of vaccination during the onboarding process. Employees are also required to follow COVID safety protocols as the situation evolves, which may include daily health screenings, mask wearing, and other mitigation measures as deemed necessary by local conditions, mandates, and applicable guidelines. 

About bg视讯

bg视讯 is a 52-year-old environmental nonprofit organization helping more than 3 million New Yorkers by providing essential services and taking action to make NYC a livable city, one where every person can enjoy a healthier, more sustainable life. bg视讯 Programs include:

  • Our network of Greenmarkets, Farmstands, Fresh Food Box sites, and food distribution hub ensure that all New Yorkers have access to the freshest, healthiest local food. 
  • We blanket the five boroughs with resources like food scrap and clothing collections to make waste reduction, recycling, and composting easy for all. 
  • We build and support community and school gardens through volunteer days, technical assistance, training, grants and more. 
  • We provide 70,000 children each year with programs that provide meaningful interactions with the natural environment. 

Job Requirements:

  • We are looking for early-risers who can work outside in various weather conditions and lift heavy equipment.
  • Age 18+
  • Available May - November, including weekend days

Additional Skills Valued (but not required):

  • Proficient in languages other than English
  • Valid New York State Drivers license and an interest in driving in NYC
bg视讯

Plastic Free Lunch Day (PFLD)

June 9, 2022
Posted in Environmental Education

ALL TOGETHER NOW!  

P.S. 971 School of Math, Science, and Health Living – a school inspired by PLASTIC FREE LUNCH DAY!  

The first ever Plastic Free Lunch Day (PFLD) in NYC public schools happened on May 16th. All over the city, students joined the Office of Food and Nutrition Services (OFNS) in a  monumental effort to create as little single-use plastic waste as possible. And it was a huge success; some students even called the day spectacular! 

The effort was brought about through a partnership between OFNS and NYC-based environmental education organization, Cafeteria Culture. During PFLD, elementary schools with onsite kitchens received plastic-free lunch service, with no plastic packaging and or utensils used during the school-provided lunch.  

To measure the impact of PFLD, many schools conducted plastic waste audits to compare their plastic waste on PFLD to regular days. This data is critical to pushing us closer to eliminating single-use plastic waste from lunch service. As Robert Markuske, Sustainability Coordinator and Instructor of Marine Policy and Advocacy at the New York Harbor Schools, says to his students, “You can’t change what you can’t measure.”  

Here’s how Plastic Free Lunch Day went down at one Brooklyn elementary school.: 

Preparations for Plastics Free Lunch Day (PFLD) at PS 971 began in April when founding Principal, Dr. Ruth Stanislaus, and Dr. Kerri Durante, Science Specialist D20 STEAM Coach, met to schedule school-wide PFLD-themed school events. 

Two weeks before PFLD, Dr. Durante taught all K971 students about single use plastics, helping her scholars understand the harmful impact plastics pose to humans and wildlife. Students learned about the many everyday items they use that contain plastic, as well as about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — a gyre of marine debris particles and microplastics in the central North Pacific Ocean. Learning about plastic waste in the ocean just before PFLD inspired the school community to action. 

With support from bg视讯 Zero Waste Schools, Dr. Durante and her student Green Team conducted two plastic waste audits using our Plastic Waste Audit guide. This data would be compared with data from PFLD to see just how much plastic was reduced. Here are some steps they took to ensure their data was accurate: 

  • Before and during the audits the Green Team and Dr. Durante spoke with OFNS staff; they also worked with the school aides and peers to make sure everyone was on board with the audits.  

  • The Green Team used Cafeteria Culture’s Data Collection sheet to record the quantities and types of single-use plastics at lunch. 

  • Green Team members took photos during the audit, capturing the many soft and hard plastics that are used as food packaging. The photographs recorded their process, the plastics that they observed, and the data collected.  

During the first audit, the Green Team noticed a lot of uneaten recoverable food, which led them to create the school’s first share table in the cafeteria! They also wanted to address the plastic Ziplock bags and single use water bottles they observed, so they requested reusable snack bags and water bottles from bg视讯 Zero Waste Schools for students who did not have them. Additionally, the school held, “Bring your own Reusable Utensil Day,” and families were given a cost comparison of a zero-waste lunch (using reusable containers) vs. packing single-serve disposable lunch and snack options.  

On Plastic Free Lunch Day (PFLD) May 16, 2022! 

The Office of Food and Nutrition Services (OFNS) team at PS 971 was ready to go! Using the OFNS video from Cafeteria Culture to prep, they successfully served a lunch meal without unnecessary single-use plastics! Congratulations to the OFNS team at P.S. 971 – Vinny Farrauto, Hugo Bonita, school cook, Tony Ruiz, and OFNS manager Dana Hickley.  

Created by CafeteriaCulture.org in partnership with NYC Department of Education Office of Food and Nutrition Services and Office of Sustainability. This video shows you how to prepare the PLASTIC FREE LUNCH DAY MENU for Monday May 16th! (You can click the time code below to jump to each part) 00:38 PIZZA 02:01 PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY or SUNFLOWER BUTTER SANDWICHES 04:50 CHEESE SANDWICHES 07:04 BROCCOLI 08:36 ORANGES 09:58 SALAD BAR Thank you for helping to make PLASTIC FREE LUNCH DAY a success! Next, watch Plastic Free Lunch Day - get ready, NYC schools! http://vimeo.com/695683120 More info at www.plasticfreelunch.org

Here are some key actions the school took: 

  • At the OFNS flavor station, individual sauce packets were replaced with a large reusable squeeze bottles filled with dressing.  

  • Announcements were made in the morning and during lunch reminding everyone it was PFLD. 

  • Students and staff brought in their reusable utensils and bottles to school. 

The Green Team made sure to conduct another plastic waste audit to capture all this reduction and guided their peers on what to sort during lunchtime. Their results showed that OFNS lunch service created significantly less plastic waste. For instance, they recorded 93 utensil wrappers during the first audit and 161 during the second; but on Plastic Free Lunch Day, they noticed the number of utensil wrappers used reduced to 0. Check out more of their findings below: 

Item Before PFLD (May 5) Before BFLD (May 10) On PFLD (May 16)
Utensil Wrapper 93 161 0
Plastic condiment wrapper 5 128 3
Food Wrapper 5 108 5
Plastic cup 206 230 57

When Dr. Durante and the Green Team looked at their month of outreach and education about reducing plastic waste, they reported some other key takeaways: 

  • Their cafeteria share table is a great and simple way to reduce food loss and provide food to those who need it. 

  • Many students continued to bring their reusable utensils. 

  • After distributing reusable bottles, there was less single-use plastic bottle waste. 

  • Plastic Free Lunch Day was fun even if it was just for one day. 

There is more work to be done, like getting rid of plastic cups by the water station, sauce packets, prepackaged utensil packets. So, they are using their Green Team meetings to further their cafeteria plastic waste advocacy project. 

Check out some images of the P.S. 971 school team in action. 

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The first-ever Plastic Free Lunch Day took a lot of planning and preparation, and we’ve heard from many schools wanting to continue reducing single-use plastics in their building. Here’s how: 

  1. Conduct a plastic waste audit using our Plastic Waste Audit Guide.  

  1. Calculate how many pieces of plastic your school creates in a week, or a month or year with our Plastic Waste Data Graph Sheet. This will blow your students minds. 

  1. Request OFNS reduces specific plastic items in cafeteria.  

  1. Work with your school cook or School Food Manager to replace condiment packets (ex. ketchup packets, salad dressing) with condiment dispensers or squeeze bottles. Using data about how many packets are used each day/week/month will help to make your case!  

  1. Involve OFNS staff in discussions about other ways to reduce plastic. Page 6 of our Plastic Waste Audit Guide contains a handy script to empower students to take on a leadership role in building a collaborative relationship with OFNS staff.   

  1. Launch an awareness campaign to involve your entire school community in plastic-free action. Use our Take Action! materials. 

  1. Encourage your school community to quench their thirst with reusable water bottles. This simple step will have an incredible impact on your school’s single- use plastic waste stream. 

  1. Encourage teachers and parents to continue taking other plastic- free action like hosting a zero-waste week in which they consolidate their efforts towards reducing plastics to see how much impact they can have in one week. Use this awareness campaign guide to get started. 

  1. Be sure your end- of -year celebrations are zero-waste with this End  of Year Celebrations video. And come to our How to Close Out the School Year Waste-Free  workshop on Wed. June 15 to learn more.  

  1. Encourage parents to pack a zero-waste lunch. Here ‘s our simple guide; share it with your PTA.  

These resources are available in the Get Ready For Plastics Free Lunch Day Resource Folder 

Congratulations to Cafeteria Culture, OFNS, and all the NYC schools who participated in the first ever Plastic Free Lunch Day!  

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