You can address school food waste problems by taking steps to prevent them. Some food waste management strategies are simple, while others require more planning for significant results.
How do I get started with reducing school food waste?
The first step to reducing food waste is to conduct an audit. The results will help you identify which food waste reduction strategies are best for your school. A follow-up audit can evaluate if the strategies are effective. Please remember that some strategies can take a year or more to prove effective since they require changing eating habits.
Below is a roundup of strategies to reduce food waste from school lunches.
Schedule recess before lunch
Most studies show that scheduling recess before lunch has a big effect on reducing plate waste. One study revealed recess before lunch can decrease plate waste from students in Grades 3-5 by 13.5%1. Only one study found a decrease in waste from milk but no measurable difference in entrees2. However, only 4.6% of schools schedule recess before lunch1.
The following may account for the decrease in food waste with recess before lunch:
Children are hungrier after playtime1.
Children with lunch before recess are anxious to play and less interested in eating1,3.
Exercise on a full stomach is uncomfortable1.
Studies found other benefits of scheduling recess before lunch, including:
Children are calmer in the afternoon2.
Calcium, iron, and vitamin A intakes improve1.
Barriers to scheduling recess before lunch include:
Children stand in long lines to wash hands and remove cold weather clothing2,3.
Some staff members may have longer hours, which increases costs2.
Some teachers have a desire to preserve morning hours for classroom learning3.
Staff and parents are reluctant to change traditional, and thus familiar, schedules3.
Increase the amount of time in the school lunch period
Studies reveal that not having enough time to eat lunch contributes to plate waste. One study shows students have only 10 to 15 minutes to eat after bathroom breaks, hand washing, and waiting in the cafeteria line1. Another study reveals increasing the school lunch period from 20 to 30 minutes can result in 16.3% less plate waste2.
Studies found other benefits of providing more time for school lunch, including:
Vitamin A and calcium intakes increased2.
13% more students selected a fruit when they had at least 25 minutes in their lunch period3.
Students wasted 11.8% less vegetables and 10.3% less milk when they had at least 25 minutes for lunch3.
Offer vs serve is the practice of allowing students to choose their food (i.e., offering), rather than serving everyone the same thing. Standards require high schools to use this method, but it is optional for lower grades.
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) requires its participants to choose at least a half cup of fruit or vegetables. Offering a choice gives students more control and means they are more likely to get food they like.
Los Angeles Unified School District saved $600,000 and prevented 13,000 tons of food waste when it switched to offer vs serve1. Also, 80% of Cafeteria Managers agree that offer vs serve results in less plate waste2. This conclusion appears to be based on personal observation rather than metrics gathered from a study.
Invite staff to eat with students. Staff's positive influence on students during lunch time means children eat more1. Staff can eat with students occasionally and on a rotating basis.
Give foods fun or descriptive names. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests giving food fun names for younger kids (e.g., X-ray Vision Carrots) and descriptive names for older kids (e.g., Crisp Celery and Carrots)2.
Offer more food selections. Students are more likely to find something they like when there is more food to choose from3.
Offer pre-packaged salads or a salad bar. Students eat more vegetables offered as part of a salad because they are colorful and crunchy1. Salad bars should be placed in high-traffic areas. The Salad Bars to Schools organization gives financial support to schools that want to install salad bars4.
Pair raw vegetables with a dip. Students are more likely to select and eat raw vegetables if these are paired with a dip such as hummus, ranch, or salsa1.
Allow students to keep uneaten food to snack on later. Students may either not be very hungry or not have enough time to eat all their food, at lunch time. Staff can allow these students to keep uneaten food for an after school snack3.
Set up share tables. Share tables are stations where students can return whole foods and beverages they do not intend to consume. Other students can pick up items from the school cafeteria table if they want more servings. Endorsed by the USDA, share tables must comply with state and local health and safety codes5.
Cafeteria staff can also follow some steps to reduce food waste:
Cut up fruit before serving. Students eat fruit more easily when it is already cut up. This practice especially helps with shorter lunch periods1.
Limit orders. Your food waste audit should determine how much food is wasted before it reaches students' plates. Between 4% and 10% of food waste happens in preparation areas due to over purchasing and improper handling2.
Stock grab-n-go items. Pre-packaged foods are linked to quicker cafeteria lines, meaning students have more time to eat their lunch1. Also, cafeteria staff can serve leftover packages on another day.
Using an offsite caterer can reduce school lunch food waste by up to half*. Students in these programs select specific meals from a list of options, usually at least a week in advance. Schools can adopt their own program to allow preordered meals without an offsite caterer. Preordering meals reduces food waste because:
Students are more likely to find something they like, since the selection can be bigger.
The cafeteria makes the amount of food needed, plus a few extra meals in case a student forgets to order.
Many European countries offer preordered meals through a caterer. The caterer gives meal options for each day, and the student makes his/her choice in advance. A few extra meals are made for each day in case a student forgets to order.
*Note — The study compared the school with catered lunch to schools that serve breakfast in addition to lunch. Therefore, actual food waste reduction for public schools is expected to be less than half.
The USDA has set a goal of reducing food waste by 50% nationwide by 2030. It is asking schools, farms, grocery stores, restaurants, and more to join the challenge. The USDA provides information and resources to schools that sign up. Visit this website to learn more and register your school.
Our school food waste series will continue with a future article on managing waste through actions such as composting.
Kids Playing at Recess Clipart. Digital image. Clipart Panda. ClipartPanda.com, n.d. Web. 30 Jun 2017.
School-lunch. Digital image. Dunard Primary School & Nursery Class. dunard-pri.glasgow.sch.uk, n.d. Web. 30 Jun 2017.
United States. United States Department of Agriculture. Food and Nutrition Service. Changing the Scene: Improving the School Nutrition Environment. N.p., n.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jun 2017.
Funny Clock Cartoon Worried. Digital image. Zerotimeoffmom. WordPress.com, 20 May 2014. Web. 30 Jun 2017.
Offer vs Serve Poster. Digital image. Westonka Public Schools. westonkafoodies.com, n.d. Web. 30 Jun 2017.
Sysco NTX K-12 Schools. Pre-packaged, cut up fruit. Digital image. Pinterest. Pinterest.com, n.d. Web. 30 Jun 2017.
Read this fact sheet for some strategies to overcome barriers to scheduling recess before lunch. Go to this United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guide for steps on negotiating recess before lunch.
Studies reveal that not having enough time to eat lunch contributes to plate waste. One study shows students have only 10 to 15 minutes to eat after bathroom breaks, hand washing, and waiting in the cafeteria line1. Another study reveals increasing the school lunch period from 20 to 30 minutes can result in 16.3% less plate waste2.
