Food scraps that might otherwise end up in a landfill could soon become chicken and fish feed at Rincon and University High School, where teacher Phillip Dukes is preparing students to build a closed-loop food system powered by black soldier fly larvae.

Dukes received a $2,000 grant through Voya Financial’s 2026 Unsung Heroes awards program to develop the RUHS Closed-Loop Food Systems Program. He is one of 50 educators nationwide selected for the award and one of two recipients in Arizona.

“I’m super honored,” Dukes said. “I’m really excited and just grateful for the program.”

The project expands on years of composting work at the Tucson school. Dukes said students began with traditional outdoor composting before adding vermicomposting, which uses worms to break down organic material. The program now includes 24 worm composting setups managed by student teams.

But those systems handle plant-based material, leaving foods such as pizza, chicken sandwiches and other cafeteria leftovers out of the composting process. Dukes began looking for another option and eventually experimented with black soldier fly larvae. 

A small pilot last year convinced him the approach could become a larger part of the school’s sustainability program.

“Essentially, I think that we’re just trying to create a system where as little food waste as possible ends up in the landfill,” Dukes said. “As a part of that process, the students and I are building a system where we can transform those food wastes into some type of product that’s useful for us and our broader agriculture program.” 

Black soldier fly larvae can consume a wide range of food scraps, making them useful for material the school cannot process through its existing composting systems. Dukes hopes the new operation can eventually process about 50 pounds of food waste per day, including unused cafeteria food and potentially leftovers discarded by students. 

After consuming the food, the larvae can be harvested and fed to chickens or fish in the school’s aquaponics system. Dukes said the larvae provide a high-fat, high-protein food source while reducing the amount of commercial feed the program needs.

The cycle can continue through the school’s poultry program. Chickens eat the feed that the larvae create and produce eggs, while manure can be returned to the school’s agricultural systems. 

For Dukes, however, the project is as much about education as waste reduction. 

Students will help design and construct the system before taking responsibility for operating it. They will rotate through jobs such as feeding the larvae, monitoring conditions and measuring the system’s inputs and outputs. 

“We’re going to do it all together,” Dukes said. “We’ll do the actual physical construction during class.”

Students will also collect data on food waste, larval growth and feed conversion, connecting the project with biology, environmental science, engineering and math. Dukes said students could track how much food enters the system and compare it with the amount and value of what comes out.

Financial literacy and entrepreneurship will also play a role. Students can calculate the value of larvae produced from food that otherwise would have been discarded and compare that with the cost of purchasing livestock feed. 

“We took something that was a problem and turned it into something valuable,” Dukes said.

The Voya grant will pay for equipment including grow tents, lights, bins, racks and fans. Dukes wants the system to have a small, modular design that could be replicated by other educators without requiring commercial-scale composting equipment. 

Dukes is also eligible for one of Voya’s three additional awards: $5,000 for third place, $10,000 for second place or $25,000 for first place. If the program receives additional funding, Dukes said he would like to expand the modular concept and potentially help other schools establish similar systems. 

The Unsung Heroes program has awarded more than $6.66 million to 2,710 educators since it began in 1996, according to Voya. 

Ultimately, Dukes said he hopes students leave the program believing large environmental problems can be addressed through practical actions they can carry into their own lives.

“That’s the lesson I hope they really internalize,” Dukes said. “I know how to do it, and it’s fun and exciting to be able to make an immediate impact on a broader issue.”