SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The school bell rings, and kids excitedly line up for lunch. With so many options, there are often plenty of leftovers that end up in the trash.
"They spent so much time making the stuff for us, so why do we waste it?" Guo said.
Brian Guo is a senior at Canyon Crest Academy who hates food waste. He and his friends started a high school club to combat food waste and other causes of climate change.
"After literal hard work and trial and error, we found a process that works and makes a real impact," said club member Daanish Zai.
Last year, club members began calling businesses to educate them on food waste solutions and donation programs.
"Businesses are typically really welcome to this, especially when we follow up consistently," Guo said.
So far, they've gotten 34 organizations to donate their surplus food to local food banks.
With success in the real world, the club turned to a neighboring school district, Carlsbad Unified, and ask Nutrition Services Director Michael Hyde to implement their strategies district-wide.
"I was very impressed by the amount of little work I had to do to get this going, and he helped me with that," Hyde said.
Every day, a driver goes to each school in the Carlsbad School District and picks up any leftover food. They take it to a warehouse, freeze it, and the San Diego Food Bank picks it up at the end of the week. Hyde said this saves 200-300 pounds of food every month.
"It's one of those examples that a little bit goes a long way," Hyde said. "Throughout the year, it ends up being thousands of pounds of food that we're diverting to families in need."
Guo says their work reduced over 3,000 pounds of CO2 emissions and conserved 400,000 gallons of water. He plans to turn this club into a nonprofit that will continue to grow when he goes to college. Find out more information about their impact log here.
