Make the Most of Food
You’re Invited!
Register for our #FWPW webinar!
April 7, 3:00-3:50 pm PT / 6:00-6:50 pm ET
Proud to be a Food Waste Prevention Week and DMV Food Recovery Week Partner!
What happened when K-12 educators, high school students, and life-long learners took the Make the Most of Food Challenge with a Veggie Twist?
Teams of households that participate in our off-the-shelf climate action project for students - the Make the Most of Food challenge - reliably reduce discarded food by about 50% - saving money, eating better, and contributing to the #1 solution to climate change according to Project Drawdown. But what if we want to add other worthy goals, like contributing to the #2 solution - plant-rich diets? In February 2025 Recycle Leaders and Maryland Institute for Entrepreneurs and Business Consultants recruited a team of k12 educators, high school students, and life-long learners to help us test a new datasheet in our first ever pilot that attempts to tackle these two challenges together, together! Hear directly from them what we learned in our webinar with Food Waste Prevention Week!
April 7 | 3:00-3:50 pm PT / 6:00-6:50 pm ET
Take the course!
About the Action Research Project
The Make the Most of Food @ Home Action Research Project provides step-by-step instructions and a day-by-day calendar to guide team leaders in inspiring participating households to complete a 4-week action research project and contribute to our collective impact.
So far, more than 300 people - including educators, green team leaders, and high school student leaders - have participated in this project, resulting in a collective reduction in discarded food by participating households of approximately 50%.
Sign up for our on-demand course to learn to lead a team of households in tracking what, why, and how much food you discard in a week and then take actions together that can improve nutrition, save money, and reduce waste.
Reduced food waste is the #1 climate change solution according to Project Drawdown and households are the largest contributor to municipal food waste!
This online project is offered by Recycle Leaders and was developed in partnership with the Audubon Naturalist Society based on the EPA's Food too Good to Waste toolkit. This project has received funding from the DC Office of State Superintendent of Education and is informed by lessons learned from the Team Up on Food Waste @ DC Wards 7 and 8 action research project funded by Sustainable DC.
We love working with partners to test innovative ideas and inspire youth leaders. For example, we have received a mini grant to offer this leadership course to Montgomery County Public School high school students to test cash incentives for participation. We partnered with Conservation Nation to offer this custom course for their Teen Leaders in Conservation program.
Contact us to inquire about customizing an action research project or challenge for your organization!
We have seriously impactful fun!
Way to go more than 200 team leaders and participants who completed the Make the Most of Food (Remote) Challenge Earth Month 2021! Together we reduced our discarded food by 52%. We had serious fun together!
Team Leader Testimonials Earth Month 2021
Virtual Awards Ceremony Earth Month 2021
We’re famous!
Check out this case study about our action researchers from DC wards 7 and 8 who helped design this challenge!
The Team Up on Food Waste @ DC Wards 7 and 8 action research project was a partnership with Loop Closing and Soilful City funded in summer 2020 by Sustainable DC.
Thanks to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) for sharing our story in English, en Français, and en Español.
Learn from more CEC case studies and resources here!
We’re global!
In 2021 we welcomed participation from Spain and India, and across the United States from 6 states and the District of Columbia. Let’s see how we can grow together. We look forward to learning together how to support local efforts globally!
What made the Make the Most of Food Challenge different was that … the challenge was designed to help me help myself…”
— Erin Petersen, Student and Green Team Leader, Northwest High School, Montgomery County Public Schools (Winner, Most Replicable Solution, 2021 challenge) & Now: Recycle Leaders Social Media Manager
“…it is a real life practical way to be involved with science in a meaningful way…”
— Alison Ewing, Pre-K Teacher, Green Team Leader @ Burroughs Elementary School (Winner, Most Replicable Solution, 2020 challenge)
Want customization?
K-12 educators: leading project-based learning?
Check out our course for K-12 teachers to learn to lead this COVID-proof remote civic / climate action project with groups of students.
We support educators, green teams, and school districts.
Contact us to inquire about our offerings!
Webinars and Presentations
April 5 | 2:00pm-2:50pm PT/ 5:00pm-5:50pm ET
How to Lead Your Coworkers in a Seriously Fun Household Food Waste Challenge!
Need an “off-the-shelf” team-building activity aligned with your workplace’s efforts to prevent food waste? Learn how to lead a team of co-workers in the 4-week Make the Most of Food @ Home challenge in which households track discarded food, take action, and share ideas and results. In this webinar, Recycle Leaders will introduce the what, why, and how of the challenge and create the opportunity to meet seriously fun team leaders who maintained high retention rates and achieved reported reductions in food waste greater than 50%.
MCPS students: use coupon code mcpsk12student
