Framingham Public Schools To Eliminate Styrofoam From Food Services & To Use Paper Not Plastic Straws

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FRAMINGHAM – The Framingham Public School District plans to eliminate Styrofoam from the food services department for the 2021-2022 school year, announced Executive Director of Finance and Operations Lincoln Lynch IV at the School Committee meeting last night, July 21.

“There will be no Styrofoam trays or plastic utensils in the District as of September 1, 2021,” he told the 9-member elected School Committee.

The District will also “remove all plastic straws at the elementary level and convert to paper straws,” said Lynch

“We are moving away from Styrofoam in our food service areas in all schools through our initiative to remove all foam and plastics from the operating platform of the food service” department, Lynch wrote to School Committee members on July 14.

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“Brendan Ryan, our Food Services Administrator, did a great amount of discovery and found a product line that is both Compostable & Biodegradable and is extremely cost effective in maintaining forecasted paper costs. Brendan worked tirelessly to make sure this goes into effect for the start of the school year,” wrote Lynch.

“He had our paper vendors do a complete product line sampling. Photos are below of the complete serving style we will be converting to come the opening of school in September. Utensils will be wood and everything else will be molded fiber,” wrote Lynch.

“There will only be one (1) container style that is only biodegradable which will be the microwave meals and the clear salad containers,” wrote Lynch. “To ensure we have the volume we need for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year, we have  placed a preliminary order for the year to ensure we do not have to substitute Styrofoam back in. Based on supply availability we may have to substitute with Styrofoam at some point during the year but we will do everything we can to ensure it does not happen.”