Reducing school food waste is central to addressing environmental and nutritional challenges in America.
The statistics are startling. According to a study conducted by the World Wildlife Fund, national food waste in America amounts to approximately 530K tons annually—this translates into 1.9M tons of CO2 emissions, 20.9B gallons of water… and a whopping $1.7B USD.
What’s more, beyond its environmental impact alone, food waste in schools underscores a missed opportunity to improve student nutrition.
Since schools are essential hubs for learning and nourishment, our educational infrastructure plays a key role in teaching students about the value of food and the importance of adopting sustainable practices.
Therefore, waste-reducing initiatives must be implemented, including portion control, food recovery programs, and composting. If done correctly, schools can promote healthier eating habits while decreasing their environmental footprint.
Let’s examine how to reduce food waste in schools.
Table of Contents
One of the first steps a school should take is to conduct a food waste audit that focuses on collaboration between staff members and students. This is a powerful tool for implementing food waste management in schools. According to the USDA, there are some key steps to take when introducing an audit, including:
Including students in an audit is a best practice as it not only helps to reduce food waste but also instructs them on the reasons why food conservation is important. This enables them to become advocates for reducing cafeteria waste and learn about the weight of their choices on the environment and the community they live in.
Recognized as a proven strategy for reducing waste from school lunches, OVS allows students to refuse certain components of a meal—including fruits, vegetables, or bread—instead of automatically being served all items. This allows students to choose what they intend to eat, which minimizes the amount of food thrown in the trash bin.
The impact of OVS is quite considerable. Studies have shown that when students are offered a choice, they are more likely to consume what they take, leading to better nutritional outcomes and efficient school meal distribution.
Of course, there are grade-specific implementation approaches to OVS. For instance:
OVS is an effective approach to raising awareness about food waste and engaging students.
Effective menu planning and marketing to the student body are also central to minimizing food waste in school cafeterias.
One powerful approach is promoting new menu items via taste tests and creating a student advisory board that is consulted in the process. This allows students to try new foods in a low-pressure environment while encouraging feedback. Interest in varied menu items can be assessed before inventory is ordered and food items are rolled out at lunchtime.
Then, a student advisory board, which can be comprised of children from all grade levels, can be used to better understand preferences and create a menu that appeals to the majority.
This type of feedback can also enable nutrition staff to identify ideal portion sizes. If students are not overwhelmed by food, they can finish their meal, and less goes to waste.
A USDA study notes that schools that use these strategies can experience up to a 30% reduction in food waste, creating a more sustainable cafeteria environment.
Another approach to encouraging students to finish meals is to give them more time to eat and enjoy them. Studies show that when students feel rushed, they are less likely to finish their meal, which leads to waste.
In fact, a survey conducted by NPR and the Harvard School of Public Health found that parents of children in grades Kindergarten through 5th reported that their kids have only 15 minutes or less to eat during lunch.
When lunchtime is extended to at least 30 minutes, students are more likely to:
Schools that do not rush students through lunchtime see a positive impact in reducing lunch waste and improving student well-being.
Unfortunately, staff shortages are all too common in cafeteria settings. According to the School Nutrition Association, 71.6% of programs reported at least one vacancy, with an overall vacancy rate of 8.7%. As a result, students don't get served quickly, and many don't have time to finish their lunches, resulting in waste and diminished focus.
Schools can overcome shortage issues and get students served quickly by implementing the following techniques:
A cashless system also helps students get through lunch lines quickly, giving them more time to finish their meals. Families can prepay, and schools can use cards and readers to verify eligibility. This process reduces the time spent fumbling with cash and counting out change.
Digital payments also help schools in other ways. For example, according to the School Nutrition Association, 98.6% of schools deal with debt due to unpaid meals, and it's only getting worse.
Automated systems address these challenges by offering features like low balance alerts, contactless POS and auto-replenishment. If your school uses a RevTrak or SIS-integrated system, you may add QR codes to menus for faster payment processing.
Students also get stuck in line when eligibility concerns arise. Staff members must often stop students to verify their eligibility before being served. This process further slows down lines, reducing time to eat and increasing waste.
Schools can eliminate this issue by providing a universal meal program, which, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, is adopted in over 60% of NSLP-participating schools.
Adapting a universal meal plan does more than move students through lunch lines efficiently. Here are other benefits to consider.
Unfortunately, not every school can adopt a universal meal program. However, they can still reduce eligibility-related tasks through the following strategies:
Share tables are a popular way to control cafeteria food waste. These tables promote the redistribution of unopened and unused food to students who may still be hungry and want more. They may reduce the estimated 530,000 tons of food that schools waste each year.
Students are encouraged to place unwanted but still-safe food items, such as packaged snacks, fruits, or drinks, where other kids can take them. This minimizes what is discarded and prevents perfectly good food from finding its way to a landfill.
To set up and manage share tables, schools should follow these guidelines:
Start small, with just one share table. Hang signs to teach students what items are acceptable and which are not (for example, sealed milk container = yes, half-eaten sandwich = no). Consider enlisting staff members or student helpers to oversee the table and instruct those who are learning the rules.
When properly implemented, share tables can create a culture that supports food conversation in schools.
The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act provides liability protection for schools that donate food in good faith. It is a federal law signed in 1996 and designed to protect schools and other food donors from legal repercussions when donating food to nonprofit organizations, so long as the donation is made to help those in need and operates with the assumption that the food is safe.
The law offers leftover redistribution strategies to donate surplus food instead of throwing it away.
Best practices associated with this law include:
These approaches can make school cafeterias more efficient and positively impact the community.
Milk cartons are among the primary items related to milk waste. Many students will take a carton of milk without finishing it, while others will leave their milk unopened and untouched. According to the World Wildlife Fund, schools waste 45 million gallons of milk annually, a $1.7 billion problem.
However, there is a solution. A PLOS One study reveals that students who pour their own milk rather than grab a carton reduce related waste by 76%. Your school can achieve reduced milk waste by adopting the following strategies:
Yet another sustainable solution for managing food waste, school composting programs turn organic waste into nutrient-rich compost, diverting food scraps from landfills, reducing greenhouse emissions, and creating valuable compost that can be used in landscaping and gardening.
In the scheme of things, that’s important, as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that approximately 30% of the garbage generated in schools is food waste.
To get started with a school composting program, follow these tips:
Additionally, the EPA and National Recycling Coalition can offer step-by-step guidance to school districts on implementing such a program. These toolkits offer composting strategies, educational materials for students, and best practices for creating an effective school-wide waste reduction initiative.
The “3 Rs”—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—promote a philosophy of reducing unnecessary products, such as single-use items (like plastic water bottles) or excess packaging.
Reusing containers and paper helps extend their lifecycle, while recycling ensures that materials like plastic, glass, and metals are processed and repurposed.
For a school to implement a program centered on the 3 Rs, it’s key to utilize a Model Recycling Program Toolkit, which provides guidance on setting up an effective recycling program.
Some points covered in a toolkit like this include:
The EPA promotes these programs because they can significantly divert waste from landfills, reducing a school’s environmental footprint.
Creating and introducing curricula is a great way to teach students about sustainability and waste reduction. Hands-on projects, such as a food waste audit, composting activities, and brainstorming on ways to reduce waste, let students play an active role in helping their schools while protecting the environment.
Using resources like “The Quest for Less,” an EPA guide, enables teachers to introduce fun activities to their classrooms. Plus, service-learning projects encourage students to take their learning outside school by partnering with local nonprofit organizations and community food pantries. In turn, students apply their knowledge to real-world situations and build a sense of responsibility toward environmental stewardship.
Student green teams are groups of kids that take ownership of waste reduction initiatives within their schools and communities. They typically organize food waste audits, promote composting and recycling programs, and set up and monitor share tables.
These teams act as ambassadors and seek to educate their peers about how food conservation and sustainability protect the earth.
Plus, by involving students in these projects, schools empower them to take responsibility for their environmental impact, encouraging them to become sustainability leaders in the short and long term.
Parents and students can adopt simple strategies to pack eco-friendly, waste-free lunches while learning how to reduce food waste in schools:
Tracking food waste metrics is key to the evaluation process and determining success and/or areas for improvement. Schools can collect data through food waste audits, monitor trends in discarded foods, and categorize waste by type.
In turn, they will be provided with actionable insights, which can lead to adjusted portion sizes, menu offering refinement, and other strategies, such as introducing composting programs.
Additionally, these metrics can inform policy changes at the district level, leading to large-scale change and building a long-term culture of waste reduction.
Expanding food waste reduction programs across school districts can make a big impact. For example, programs like California’s Food Waste Prevention Week have shown how targeted campaigns that educate students and staff can reduce waste. Similarly, schools in Minnesota have successfully implemented share tables, composting programs, and menu adjustments, reducing waste by up to 25% district-wide.
Sharing best practices is vital for scaling to be realized. Districts can hold workshops, establish collaboration networks, and create online forums for schools to exchange success stories and valuable lessons. Additionally, partnering with local community groups and government agencies can provide resources and support bigger and more intense efforts.
Running a school lunch program shouldn’t feel like a never-ending to-do list. The School Lunch Success Kit is your one-stop resource, giving you everything you need to keep things organized, safe, and engaging.
What’s Inside: