“As a larger dining management provider, we feel it is our responsibility to set an environmentally responsible example for all of our guests,” said Harold Leininger, President & COO, Metz & Associates, Ltd. “We hope that by sharing our knowledge of sustainability, we will enable our guests will become more aware and responsible stewards of the environment.”

At Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Schneider’s, a local dairy, will be on hand to showcase local products and assist the Metz team in teaching students about the recycling of plastic milk bottles. “One of our staff members will be available throughout the Earth Day lunch period for a hands-on demonstration of the recycling process for our students,” said Yvonne Phillips, General Manager, Metz & Associates, Ltd. at Shady Side Academy. “They will learn the recycling process, from start to finish, with the end result being plastic bubble bottles for the students to take home.”

Earth Day lunch at Shady Side will be trayless and green, with plenty of live plants decorating the dining area and fresh fruits and vegetables on the menu. Students will also get a chance to play the popular Metz game, “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader” during lunch break, which will feature questions on the history of earth day and other earth day related topics. Students will also each receive a packet of herb seeds to take home to plant.

“Going green is the way of our future, and a great focus at Shady Side Academy,” Phillips said. “Metz & Associates is in the perfect position to lead the way with our young people, teaching them at an early age the processes that will insure our futures and theirs as well. It is our hope that they will also take this knowledge home and share it with their parents.”

Although Earth Day gives a special opportunity to highlight the topic of sustainability, it is a focus with Metz & Associates, Ltd. all year long. At Old Trail School in Bath, Ohio, Metz general manager, Audra Arnold regularly purchases produce and other items from a local farmer’s market, such as Ohio maple syrup and teas made from organic blooms. As a special Earth Day event, students at Old Trail will also be silk-screening their own Earth Day tee shirts and a professor from the University of Akron will be speaking to parents and faculty about Green Chemistry.

Metz & Associates’ Earth Day activities reach beyond accounts and out into the local community as well. At Hampton Township School District, students in the elementary and middle schools are encouraged to bring eight empty cans to school on Earth Day. They exchange the cans for a ticket for a chance to win a Bruster’s Ice Cream gift certificate. This not only encourages recycling with the students and their families, but will also go to help a very important community project. After all of the recycled cans are collected, they will be delivered to a local community organization that is using them to raise funds for a local veteran’s memorial.

“This project fits perfectly into our Earth Day objectives and also with Metz & Associates, Ltd. company-wide efforts to support projects within the communities we operate,” said Darlene Carmack, Food Service Director, Metz & Associates, Ltd. at Hampton Township School District.

At Butler Health System, the Metz staff is working to implement a more extensive recycling program for its kitchen. “We’re continuously looking for ways to improve our green efforts and increase awareness of our impact on the earth’s resources,” said Joseph Landolina, General Manager, Metz & Associates, Ltd. at Butler Health System. “Our new recycling program will not only be better for the environment, but it will also save money for our client through less trash removal.”

The Metz team at Butler will also promote a refillable stainless steel mug program for Earth Day, offering customers an opportunity to purchase the mugs at a reduced rate and then offering discounted refills. Landolina said he is currently researching new take-out container options and will be switching to a more environmentally friendly line early this summer.

In addition to receiving environmentally friendly Earth Day tips, guests at Metz & Associates accounts will also get to view an Earth Day timeline, which shows progress made on environmental issues from 1969, when U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin announced a nationwide environmental awareness gathering, through present day. Today, worldwide involvement in Earth Day unites 18,000 organizations in 186 countries, while domestic programs engages 5,400 groups and more than 26,000 educators in the coordination of millions of environmental protection activities.

Through having a strong emphasis on sustainability, from purchasing locally whenever possible to utilizing environmentally friendly products and recycling and composting trash, Metz & Associates, Ltd. strives to lead by example and motivate others to be better stewards of the environment.

Metz & Associates, Ltd., a premier food service company for the Northeast United States, provides dining and environmental management to clients such as hospitals, assisted living & long-term care facilities, school districts and independent schools, colleges and universities and corporate offices. For more information on Metz & Associates, Ltd., visit our website at www.metzltd.com or call 570-675-8100.