Roots & Routes
Alyssa Kang
Food waste is a major issue in the U.S. While 47.4 million people in the country experience food insecurity, the nation produces more than enough food to feed its population. Yet nearly 30-40% of the food supply in the United States is wasted, and nearly 30% of U.S. vegetable fields go unharvested. This disconnect highlights how inefficiencies in the food system—not scarcity—often prevent food from reaching those who need it most.
Roots & Routes is an educational program that aims to make sustainability education more accessible and approachable. This program/school event rescues surplus produce from local farms—fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste—and delivers them to schools to support hands-on food education. By connecting farmers, educators, and students, the program strengthens community food systems while empowering young people to cook with fresh, seasonal ingredients and understand the broader impacts of food waste.
The ultimate objective of this project is to create a scalable program that actively addresses food waste while reframing sustainability as something tangible rather than theoretical. While sustainability education is often grounded in science and hard data, it can lack relatability. Roots & Routes bridges this gap by turning abstract concepts into hands-on experiences, allowing learners to see sustainability not just as information, but as something they can actively practice in their daily lives.