Schools Hold Great opportunities for Teaching The Value of Food.
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School cafeterias serve as America's largest "restaurant chain"—feeding 30 million children daily across nearly 100,000 locations and serving 7 billion meals annually, surpassing even McDonald's in scale and reach.
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Without cafeteria share tables, an entire generation is being systematically trained to treat perfectly good food as disposable trash—a lesson that follows them into adulthood, as evidenced by 18-24 year olds ranking among the highest food wasters in WRAP's recent segmentation analysis.
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Cafeteria share tables provide a powerful alternative by normalizing food redistribution, teaching children the practical value of sharing resources rather than discarding them.
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The bottom line is undeniable: what happens in school cafeterias profoundly shapes not just our children's relationship with food, but also impacts our communities, environment, and economy for decades to come.
View News Story High School Students Lead Initiative to Redistribute Surplus Food to Their Community
The Great Food Waste Expedition School Food Waste Audit Workshop & Campaign
Workshop: Monday, March 24, 2025
Time: 9-10 AM PST / 12-1 PM EST
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Learn best practices for conducting school food waste audits
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Presenters: Mary Jane Chandler (WWF, Moderator), Melissa Terry (University of Arkansas), SJ Schanwald (WWF)
Social Media Campaign:
March 24 - April 20, 2025
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Share your food waste audit results through photos, videos, data, or creative projects
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Use hashtags: #FWPW, #FWPW25, #FoodWastePreventionWeek, or #FoodMaestro
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Accepted formats: presentations, drawings, images, videos, PDFs, spreadsheets, documents
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Selected submissions will be featured on the Food Waste Prevention Week webpage and social media
Join us to discover where your food waste comes from and develop practical solutions that work for your school. Document your journey to help inspire others!
Sign UP for An Author Reading
"When Good Fruit Goes Bad"By Vernon Gibbs II
Interested in meeting an author and illustrator of a fun children’s book that focuses on eating healthy, creating less waste and knowing that you have value!? In conjunction with Food Waste Prevention Week, author Vernon Gibbs II is reading his children’s book "When Good Fruit Goes Bad". This is a story of grocery store owner Hank Huckleberry and how he has to quickly to deal with some really bad fruit that are taking over his store! It has great lessons about eating healthy, creating less waste, but most importantly, how we all have value even with our bumps and bruises.
You can watch a trailer for the book here. In addition to the 10 minute story time via Zoom, there will be 10 minutes for questions and answers, followed by an interactive 15 minute drawing lesson to teach kids how to draw one of the main characters from the book! Nearly 40 minutes of Content! The Book can be purchased on Amazon at the link below. Bulk orders of the book (25 or more copies) can be directed to Vernon.
If you are interested in participating, fill out the form below.
Register by Friday, March 29th. Questions? Contact Vernon at cuzzospublishingandmedia@gmail.com with the subject: Food Waste Prevention Storytime
Resources
Webinars
School Food Waste Audit
Attend one of our webinars on reducing food waste in schools. Register below.
The best way to tackle food waste is to make sure students consume what they take. This involves good planning by school nutrition staff, getting students involved in decision-making, and having teachers educate students on the impacts of wasted food. Click here to view some school food waste strategies.
Book resources
We have a comprehensive list of children's books focused on food waste prevention for you to use in your classroom. Click here to view our list.
Food recovery Network Chapter
Many students (maybe you!) are passionate about making a tangible difference on issues like sustainability, public health or hunger. Whatever drives you, there’s a place for you in this movement. To learn more click here.
follow us
Be sure to follow us on @FoodWastePreventionWeek on Facebook and Twitter and @savethefoodweek on X (formerly Twitter).
in-class Food Waste Curricula & resources
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The Food Matters Action Toolkit (Available in English, Spanish, and French)
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International Food Waste Coalition "Do Good, Save Food!" Curriculum
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EPA Educating Youth About Wasted Food - EPA has a brand new webpage with resources for educating youth on wasted food. It includes resources to use in the classroom like lesson plans, resources for reducing school food waste, composting and prevention resources for youth, etc.
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www.schoolfoodrecovery.org - templates, checklist for starting a share table program
Hidden Systems of Food Waste Through the Arts and Action
Explore topics like integrating food waste into English Language Arts, blending food waste with art activities, integrating food waste curriculum, conducting student food waste audits, and much more during a series of webinars leading up to and during Food Waste Prevention Week.
Dive into engaging sessions designed to share ideas, promote action, and build skills for K-12 educators and students led by food waste experts from across North America. Don't miss the chance to be part of this fun and educational initiative!
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Tuesday, March 19 1:30-2:30 pm PT/ 4:30-5:30pm ET
Bringing Food Waste Topics into the English Language Arts Classroom
Speakers: Lisa Jeff, Chicago Public Schools
Thursday, March 21 12:30-1:30 pm PT/ 3:30-4:30pm ET
Food Waste Audit 101
Speaker: Melissa Terry, University of Arkansas
Tuesday, March 26 1:30-2:30 pm PT/ 4:30-5:30 pm ET
Step Up to The Plate Art and Food Waste Activity
Speakers: Karen Riley, Scrap Gallery
Wednesday, March 27 12:00-1:00 PM PT/ 3:00-4:00 PM ET
Single Use Plastics in School Cafeterias
Speakers: Molly Longton and Kendon Jung, Arizona State University Office of Zero Waste
Tuesday, April 2
Creating Young Food Heroes to Empower Communities in Tackling Food Waste
Speakers: WWF and CEC
9:00-9:45 am PT/ 12:00-12:45 PM ET
¡Apoyando a los héroes juveniles a empoderar a sus comunidades para reducir el desperdicio de alimentos!
12:00-12:45 pm PT/ 3:00-3:45 PM ET
Wednesday, April 3 12:00-1:00 PM PT/ 3:00-4:00 PM ET
Vermicomposta: ¡Lombrices para combatir el desperdicio de alimentos!
“Vermicomposting: Worms that fight food waste!”
Webinar in Spanish, simultaneous interpretation to EN and FR by the CEC
Speakers: CEC and Ciclomanias
Thursday, April 4 12:30-1:30 pm PT/ 3:30-4:30 pm ET
Upcycling: Transforming waste into art, turning trash into treasure!
Speakers: Elizabeth Romo-Rabago