Niles School District 219 BGP began working with Niles School District 219 in 2010. The project started with the building of a 5-year sustainability strategy including local, organic, hormone free food procurement, as well as, waste reduction and energy and water reduction by eliminating disposables, implementing composting, and eliminating inefficiencies in the kitchens. After the strategy was accepted, BGP acted as third-party monitors, reporting back to the district administrators about the successes and opportunities discovered in the implementation of the new strategy. In the second year, BGP’s work expanded beyond the kitchen to include student engagement initiatives designed to build support for the new programs in and outside the school. Athletes, clubs, classes, newspapers, teachers, students and administrators have all been included to increase the impact of our strategy by promoting its initiatives and collaborating with all of the stakeholders to bring each community member’s unique skills and contributions to help the programs succeed.
“We had many ideas about sustainability which were floating around in the ethers. Greg immediately understood our ideas and translated them quickly into a document that was specific, realistic and timely.”
– Paul O’Malley, Business Manager, Niles Township High School District 219