WE WILL ESTABLISH MUCH-NEEDED, EVIDENCE-BASED FOOD SAFETY AND OPERATIONAL PRACTICES TO MAKE SHARE TABLES MORE FEASIBLE AND ATTRACTIVE TO THE NEARLY 100,000 SCHOOLS IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM, FACILITATING SYSTEMS CHANGE TO AMELIORATE CHILD FOOD INSECURITY AND FOOD WASTE. SHARE TABLE IMPLEMENTATION IS CURRENTLY LIMITED BECAUSE THE EXISTING GUIDANCE ON SHARE TABLE FOOD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS IS FRAGMENTED AND NOT SPECIFIC ENOUGH TO GUIDE SCHOOL-LEVEL ACTION. OUR OVERALL GOAL IS TO ADDRESS THE FOOD SAFETY AND OPERATIONAL CONCERNS OF STAKEHOLDERS THAT ARE HINDERING SHARE TABLE FOOD RECOVERY. WE WILL CONDUCT QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS WITH HEALTH INSPECTORS TO IDENTIFY THE PERCEIVED FOOD SAFETY RISKS THAT ARE INFORMING LOCAL HEALTH CODE VARIATION. NEXT, WE WILL CONDUCT A QUANTITATIVE MICROBIAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF FOODBORNE DISEASE RISK DUE TO THE CONSUMPTION OF SHARE TABLE FOOD ITEMS TO ADDRESS STAKEHOLDER FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS AND IDENTIFY BEST FOOD-SAFETY PRACTICES. USING THESE RESEARCH FINDINGS, WE WILL DEVELOP AND TEST SHARE TABLE TRAINING AND IMPLEMENTATION RESOURCES IN SCHOOLS. FINALLY, WE WILL PROVIDE CONSISTENT, EVIDENCE-BASED SHARE TABLE RESOURCES ACROSS PUBLIC HEALTH, SCHOOL NUTRITION, AND FOOD PANTRY SECTORS THROUGH NATIONALLY DISSEMINATING OUR RESEARCH FINDINGS AND SHARE TABLE RESOURCES TO KEY STAKEHOLDERS WHILE MONITORING AND EVALUATING THEIR USE. OUR PROJECT OUTPUTS WILL PROVIDE A DATA-DRIVEN PLAN OF ACTION TO ALL KEY STAKEHOLDERS THAT WILL REDUCE FOOD WASTE, INCREASE HEALTHY FOOD DONATIONS TO NON-PROFITS, AND CREATE COST SAVINGS FOR SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAMS WHILE PROTECTING CHILDREN'S SAFETY AND PROMOTING IMPROVED NUTRITIONAL SECURITY.