Sustainable Way to Deal With Food Waste

Don't get be wrong, donating excess food is already sustainable but what about other options?

I feel like food waste in the school goes highly unnoticed, from the cost of the food to the energy consumed during preparation to the waste in the landfills, which creates methane. Of the four periods of food that get served, the most successful(least food waste), seemingly, is breakfast. Half-eaten sandwiches, leftover fruit, untouched rice, and unfinished food are not as common in the Morris Hills cafeteria. It's nothing an onlooker can do, but it can be avoided.

It all starts with proper education. Educating consumers to plan ahead and buy only what is needed. This overlooks how much you can store, use, and consume. Sometimes I find an unfinished loaf of bread in my family's pantry with a couple of slices left. In a school setting, schools need to teach the importance of nutrition. Mara Tippmann states, " It is essential that schools not only teach about sustainable food and nutrition but also teach by example through the food they offer"(Tippmann 1). Tippmann's study suggests that while incorporating sustainable food and nutrition in education is essential, the school cafeteria has to Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

exhibit this importance, or it will result in resistance to change.

Nonetheless, it is crucial to create a space for students to develop their own opinions, which they are more inclined to be aware of food waste. As these ideals would follow them into the future, they must learn how to plan proportions, balanced nutrition, and sustainable eating habits. Food is a source of energy for every person on this earth, and so it is vital for schools to teach students about their environmental footprint.

Still, donating excess food instead of throwing it away is a great way to use unspoiled food. If leftover food is not consumed soon, check out your local food pantry/bank, shelters, and soup kitchens. This is one way to divert food waste from landfills to put food on the table for needy families.

Interfaith Food Pantry in Parsippany, N

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Another great way to use scraps is composting! Donating organic material and food scraps/waste to local farmers to use towards animal feed. I've seen that industries could use donated fats and oils/greases to bio-diesel fuel. Although that sounds great, it's much more challenging to expedite as it isn't popular. This unpopularity is mainly due to the inefficiency and cost that is more demanding than other energy sources( ex., petroleum).

Although donation and composting deal with food waste, it isn't prevention. Preventing food waste starts at the source of it all, education. But teaching is hard when you aren't interested, so I urge schools with classes that teach you how to cook or bake to teach about the environmental footprint one can create.

Citations:

Tippmann, M. (2020). Education for Sustainable Food and Nutrition – Towards Criteria for German Secondary Schools. Glocality, 3(1): 5, 1–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/glo.28