The City of Cupertino held its annual Earth and Arbor Day Festival near the Cupertino Library on Saturday, April 4. The festival, which featured a variety of food trucks, educational booths, music and games, aimed to educate community members about organizations addressing environmental issues, such as food waste, climate change, road safety and water scarcity.
Truly Fresh founder and Lynbrook High School junior Xara Aman says their group primarily combats food waste by fostering eco-friendly habits and has donated over 2,000 pounds of produce to various groups across the Bay Area. Aman says that Earth and Arbor Day presented a unique opportunity for passionate members to support their cause.
“Gen Z and the upcoming generations are a lot more vocal about environmental issues, which I’m really proud to see,” Aman said. “The previous generation didn’t really have the knowledge, information and resources to educate them on these topics. Although we can’t erase what has been done in the past, we can definitely reverse it and take steps towards being more environmentally friendly.”
Similarly, West Valley Community Services fundraising and communications coordinator Akriti Shrivastava says Earth and Arbor Day Festival is a great platform for recruiting new volunteers and showcasing their dedication to the community. As a long-time member, Shrivastava says the organization redistributes excess food from grocery stores. She adds that partnering with various farms and pantries helps address the disparity in food distribution, which remains a growing problem in the U.S.
“Food waste and food insecurity are two really big issues in our community,” Shrivastava said. “It’s a hidden problem that not many people know about. People should come volunteer at West Valley Community Services and really see the amount of food that grocery stores are unable to sell — it’s really astonishing. But what’s even more surprising is the number of people in our community who are struggling with food insecurity. We’re able to help them out and link all this wasted food with families that really need it.”
West Valley Community Services volunteering coordinator Stuart Feng agrees with Shrivastava, noting that vigilant community members can alleviate the food waste problem in the country. Feng adds that community involvement is key to addressing food waste.
“We’ve gotten a lot of good volunteer engagement in our community, from people helping out at our food pantry to people helping deliver food from various grocery stores to keep our food pantry stocked,” Feng said. “It’s a community effort to really end these problems. So at the Earth Day Festival, we’re helping recruit new volunteers, but also doing some public outreach to spread the work we do for the community.”
Similar to Feng and Shrivastava, Walk Bike Cupertino representative Helene Davis says that high school students can play a huge part in combating systemic issues. She adds that Walk Bike Cupertino advocates for safer roads so that kids can enjoy the benefits of biking or walking.
“High school students, just try walking or biking to your school,” Davis said. “It’s good for you to clear your head in the morning or in the afternoon. It’s good for the environment, for your health and we can make a better Cupertino if everyone contributes.”
