Fueling A Sustainable Future
We don’t just talk about sustainability - we take action, because we believe that creating a better world for generations to come starts today.
Sustainability at Taft
Sustainability is an important part of how we serve our community. We proudly partner with the Taft EcoMons to promote responsible dining practices and environmental awareness across campus. A community composting station is available during all meal periods, making it easy for students, faculty, and staff to compost their food waste. Behind the scenes, our culinary team also composts all food scraps and waste from both preparation and service, helping to reduce landfill impact and support more sustainable operations throughout the dining program.
Taft EcoMons, our partners in Sustainability
The Taft EcoMons are the school’s environmental student leaders, educators, and liaisons. They plan and lead initiatives that raise environmental awareness, explore solutions to sustainability challenges on campus, and evaluate the effectiveness of our environmental programs. Through education, advocacy, and action, EcoMons play a vital role in engaging the Taft community and advancing efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. Their work includes the ongoing evaluation of energy and material use, waste streams, emerging technologies, and sustainable behaviors across campus.
Working Toward Zero Waste
We proudly support the sustainability goals of The Taft School. Here are a few active initiatives.
Robust Recycling
We recycle cardboard, metal, paper, glass, and accepted plastic products, and we recycle uncommon items—such as batteries and printer cartridges—wherever possible.
Collaborative Composting
We work with Curbside Composting to collect organic materials—including food waste and compostable service items such as napkins and wooden stir sticks—to be composted into useable, nutrient-rich soil amendments.
Proactive Prevention
We use tracking and forecasting tools to proactively identify food waste trends in order to alter our preparation accordingly.
Showcasing Our Local Partner Relationships
Taft Dining sources food from many local farmers, growers, and distributors. Our partners change throughout the year depending on seasonality and availability.
Arethusa Farms - Litchfield, CT
The Webster Family owned a dairy farm south of Litchfield. They named the farm Arethusa for the small pink orchid that grew in a swamp on the land. Arethusa Farm originally started as a dairy farm which delivered milk and dairy products locally.
Great Minds Coffee Roasters - Oakville, CT
At Great Minds, we are happy to introduce new and exciting coffees to our customers by offering coffee from all over the world.
We strive to maintain a coffee offerings menu that is sure to please every type of coffee drinker. Through extensive sampling and rotating our offerings to optimize the harvest seasons, we ensure you are getting the freshest beans which must first pass our quality standards.
March Farm - Bethlehem, CT
March Farm is a fourth generation family farm destination offering seasonal Pick Your Own berries & fruit along with family friendly activities. The Farm Store & Bakery is stocked with regional food specialties and fresh baked goods – everything you need to compliment your next meal or dessert.
Lamothe's Sugar House - Burlington, CT
It all began with a small working farm, with a few pigs and a vegetable garden. We started making maple syrup for our own use with a modest seven taps, but soon had many requests to purchase our syrup. As demand became greater than our supply, we began expanding our number of taps and operation. With the help of family and friends, we now have over 5,500 taps and with a state-of-the-art sugar house operation.
More Ways to Go Green with Taft Dining
Sip Smarter
Be sure to hydrate - Especially during peak summer heat!
Choose to Reuse
Dining Halls have reusable food containers.
Green Cleaning
Always try to use organic cleaning supplies.
No Deforestation
We're doing our best to help the limitation of forest removal.
Food Donation
Keep in mind, to always try donating any leftover food.
Composting
Compost stations over by the dish return makes it easy to turn scraps into useful materials.
