Schools can play a key role in reducing food waste while educating the next generation about the importance of using food for its intended purpose. Below are tools and strategies that Virginia schools can use to reduce their food waste.  

 Kitchen and Lunch Line Strategies 

• Planning Ahead
  • School nutrition programs can reduce waste through effective forecasting and menu and production planning. With thoughtful planning, schools can purchase the appropriate amount of food, helping save money and reduce waste. 
    • Waste Reduction Strategies (Chef Ann Foundation, The Lunchbox)
• Incorporating Student-Driven Menu Items 
  • Across Virginia, school nutrition programs are engaging with students to develop menu items that reflect student preferences. Serving student-approved food can be a great way to increase participation and decrease food waste.
    • Learn how to incorporate student-inspired meals through the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) Virginia Food for Virginia Kids training series.
• Offer versus Serve
  • Offer versus Serve (OVS) is a provision in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). When school nutrition programs utilize OVS, students are allowed to decline some of the food offered. Allowing students flexibility with their food choices can reduce waste. OVS is optional for grades K through 8 and required at lunch for grades 9 through 12.
    • OVS Guidance for NSLP and SBP (USDA)
• Bulk Service
  • Purchasing and serving food in bulk rather than individually packaged portions can help reduce both food waste and trash.
    • How Bulk Milk Dispensers Cut Waste in Schools (World Wildlife Fund)
    • Bulk Milk Grants (Chef Ann Foundation, The Lunchbox)
    • Salad Bars to Schools (Chef Ann Foundation, The Lunchbox)

Lunchroom Strategies

• Extending Lunch Time
  • Research indicates that extending lunch periods can reduce food waste and improve dietary intake.
• Share Tables
  • Share tables are designated stations where students can return whole and/or unopened food or beverage items that they choose not to eat. These items can then be made available to other students or donated.
    • Use of Share Tables in Child Nutrition Programs (USDA)
    • A Toolkit for Implementing Share Tables in Municipal Schools (Environmental Law Institute)
• Composting Food Scraps
  • Collecting food scraps in the lunchroom teaches students how to properly sort their organic waste. Schools can manage organic waste in a variety of ways, including processing compost in a school garden or having their compost hauled away to a compost facility.
    • Virginia Excess Food Opportunities Map
    • Guide to Composting Onsite at Schools (Institute for Local Self Reliance)
    • Classroom Activities
      • Do the Rot Thing: A Teacher’s Guide to Compost Activities
      • Composting and Soil Health Children’s Books
      • The Soil Story Curriculum
    • Let’s Go Compost
    • Composting at School (Chittenden County, Vermont)

Classroom Strategies 

• Food, Nutrition, and Agriculture Education
  • Holding taste tests and incorporating lessons about new foods in the classroom can increase a student’s likelihood of trying a new food when they encounter it in the lunchroom.
    • Popular Events Idea Booklet (USDA)
    • Virginia Harvest of the Month Program (VDOE)
    • Virginia Farm to School Program (VDOE)

Resources

• Educating Youth About Wasted Food (EPA)
• K-12 Food Waste Resources (USDA)
• Guide to Conducting Student Food Waste Audits (USDA)
• Food Waste Warriors Program (World Wildlife Fund)
  • Teaching Resource
• Food Waste Reduction Toolkit (Rhode Island School Recycling Project)

Connect 

• Community members working toward food waste reduction can connect with their local School Nutrition Director to enhance the work of the school nutrition program.
• School Nutrition Directors seeking to employ strategies to limit food waste in alignment with Federal regulations should connect with their assigned SNP Specialist at the VDOE.
• Learn more about the Virginia Farm to School Program to enhance connections between classrooms, cafeterias, students, and local farms.