AKRON, Ohio — The Akron Public School district is the size of some small towns.
They serve 27,000 meals every day and each one comes on a disposable tray.
“I've been with the district for 33 years and we've always had the disposable lunch trays in the time I've been here,” said Deborah Foulk.
Foulk joined the district in 1987 and does not know why it stopped using the hard-plastic trays.
But she says the Styrofoam and cardboard trays make more financial sense.
For now, the district plans on staying with their trays even as ecological awareness goes up.
"It is a difficult conversation to have. It is certainly a very important conversation to have but there are also the changes in what is available to recycle,” she said.
The district looked at the cost of compostable trays made of sugar cane and wheat straw. But, Foulk said they aren’t right for the district at this point.
The trays can bend and break under the weight of a full lunch.
"And they also have an issue with possible heat going through your fingers,” she said.
It may seem simple but with children as young as three years old handling some of the trays, thinking about sturdy trays is part of Foulk’s job.
She knows that Styrofoam isn’t a popular choice because it does not biodegrade.
The district does acknowledge the price of the compostable trays has gone down since they were first released.
"It is a difficult conversation to have. It is certainly a very important conversation to have but there are also the changes in what is available to recycle,” she said.
But she also warns, some of the alternative trays could not be recycled anyway.
“Once the grease is in the cardboard box or the debris of the food, you can't recycle those either,” Foulk said.
A dish washing machine is no longer cost effective either, Foulk said.
The labor, water, electric and chemical costs associated with running the machines would eat in to the lunch budget.
Right now, labor makes up 41% of the budget for meals. The rest goes to food and supplies.
Akron Public Schools is one of the districts in the country that can serve all of it’s meals – breakfast, lunch and an after school snack – to every student completely free.
They are not bound by income.
And for Foulk, that is what matters.
“We do not want to impede our ability to offer a nutritious program to our students,” she said.
Trays could change in the future.
A group of Akron high school students spent time looking in to alternatives as part of a school project.
They are going to make a presentation about on February 24.
Foulk said administrators will watch the presentation.
