Case Studies

Newark Unified Elementary School, Newark, CA

In Newark, CA, a community just south of the San Francisco Bay Area, the school food service director introduced an innovative way to serve water to kids during meals.  Using cafeteria funds, he purchased beverage serving containers (pictured below) and cases of paper cups.  He filled the containers with water and sliced fruit from commodity funds (fresh strawberries turned the water pink; the school has since switched to citrus, which does not color the water).

The water service has been a hit with students.  Costs are estimated to be around $0.01 per serving, mostly reflecting the price of the paper cup.