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No small thing, "How to Reduce Food and Packaging Waste School Lunch
Despite the many updates thoughtful and forward-thinking in schools, the design of the school and classroom curriculum, cafeterias education degree has not changed significantly over the past 50 years. The students are either buying lunch, they get in a tray ("hot" lunch) or lunch and bring home ("cold lunch"). School lunches often include a self-service salad bar with a good variety of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grain bread, a healthy improvement over last year. However, an enormous amount of good wasted food: sandwiches around, eating fruit, opening cups of yogurt and applesauce, and without touching the bags of chips have been found in waste audits made in local schools.
Unfortunately, these schools were not unique. A comprehensive study of Great Britain recently revealed that one third of all food purchased is thrown away, which could have been eaten for 61%. Other studies have found that in the U.S., it is estimated that never from 40% to 50% of all food ready for harvest is eaten. The average family of four dead near $ 600 a year in meat, vegetables, fruits, and grain products.
Returning to the Audit waste grade school, it was revealed that 17% of the waste generated at the school was food waste and 24% were food packaging waste. Other schools have found that up to one third of its waste stream is composed of a food waste. Given that the schools have to pay both for food and Waste Management lost, compared to how food reaches schools and what happens to the penalty a closer look.
So what is can do to stem the tide of good food dump gone?
Start with the basics: reduce what is provided for lunch. Although the choice of salad bar offers free are an excellent idea, children often have more than you can eat in one sitting. Signs and classroom guidance can help remind everyone to "take what you want, but eat what you take." Cold lunch diners can also bring food usually less and continue to meet – read on for more details.
Pass it on: a "no thanks" table. Anything brought from home is not open, such as yogurt containers, bags of chips, granola bars, applesauce cups and the like can be left in a "no thanks" table where other children can find something they like. Although there are some issues such as allergies and the stigma associated with "food table used" are not insurmountable. Food is at the end of each day were welcomed at a shelter or food bank.
Fighting table culture: use reusable containers. It has been observed that when a bag lunch is packed in plastic bags and disposable, any leftover food – like a whole sandwich – Is seen as disposable, like containers which entered The same applies to prepackaged foods like chips, crackers or cookies in bags single serving. However, when lunch is packed in reusable containers, food scraps are returned to the container and put back in the lunch box. This has several immediate and valuable benefits: first, taking into account the amounts that come home from school later portions can be adjusted accordingly. Secondly, if there any leftover food, usually becomes a ready-made snack after school (assuming that the lunch box has an ice pack to keep everything cool until mid-afternoon).
It was recently revealed that the cartons of milk, contrary to common wisdom in part due to the current economic recession, usually not recycled when removed from the waste stream, but are expelled with the rest of the trash. Moreover, children rarely drink the total of eight ounces of milk offering, resulting in additional waste. Schools should consider investing in washable cups and a milk dispenser, both to eliminate packaging Single-use and reduce wastage of milk. This also has its own problems, one of which is the time to wash the cups after use. Again, this is not insurmountable, but can only be a change in behavior outside the plant for refrigerated milk to the manipulation of clothing. Students themselves can fill the dishwasher and trays.
Address of school culture: to have recess before lunch. Many schools report that time is often interrupted the cafeteria because the children are in a hurry to go to recess. The result is that many children do not eat at all and spend the afternoon with hunger and unable to concentrate. Several school districts around the U.S. have implemented a reverse strategy: the children go directly to the playground during lunch break, after which returned to the cafeteria for lunch, where they remain until it is time to return to the classroom. The Montana schools reports indicate that "the behavior recess before lunch "to improve programs for students on the playground, lunchroom, and in the classroom and resulted in less wasted food. A secondary school reported a 50% drop in plate waste "(throwing food), and a 60% reduction in disciplinary actions related to the dining room at a time three years. Teachers also reported improved concentration and more effective management of time with the gap before the lunch program.
Finalize at the end: composting offer. Some food waste is just that – the inedible parts such as banana peels, eggshells and coffee grounds. Many schools have introduced compost bins to help manage these spare bits, often in association with the school garden projects.
As with any change, routine counseling applies: find defenders among the school staff and parents, research on similar strategies have been tried and see if the results apply to their own school, consider how each step in a new program could have a class time, staff time and staff resources, and communicate communicate, communicate to students, parents, teachers and staff.
Schools are adopting, and education, environmental message refreshing, but I could drive that message if you apply for the simplest of daily activities as eating lunch. By reducing food and packaging waste food, families and schools equally to save money by reducing the loss of good food to landfill and avoid having to pay for disposal. In the budget-conscious home school today and the economic conditions, that is no small thing.
About the Author
Nancy Myers is a mother of three and founder of Lunchsense, a line of vinyl free, lead free lunch boxes with BPA-free leak-proof food containers. Lunchsense lunch boxes are designed to help families pack healthy lunches with correct portions; the company was recently featured at the Green Festival in San Francisco, one of the nation’s largest annual eco events. For more information visit, http://www.lunchsense.com.
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