What You Can Do To

Help Prevent

Wasted Food

In the United States, food loss and waste is about

30 percent of the food supply at retail and consumer 

levels. While the amount of food wasted at schools has 

not increased during recent years, there are many ways 

that everyone on a school campus can help reduce, 

recover, and recycle food before it goes to waste.

INSIDE: TIPS FOR SCHOOL STAFF, 

PARENTS, AND STUDENTS.

http://teamnutrition.usda.gov
Tips for School

Nutrition Professionals

1

Buy what you need. 

Use production records and our Food Buying Guide (www.fns.usda.gov/tn/food-buyingguide-school-meal-programs) to help you reduce leftover food.

Consider food sharing. 

Partner with your local health department to implement safe practices that encourage kids 

to leave unwanted food on “share tables.” 

Market your meals.

Highlight new foods on your menus and serving lines. Consider holding taste tests

and recipe competitions or creating a student advisory committee to provide feedback 

on food acceptability and recipe names. Check out the Team Nutrition Popular Events 

Booklet for resources: www.fns.usda.gov/team-nutrition-popular-events-idea-booklet.
2

Check food acceptability.

How do students feel about the foods 

being served? Is the fresh fruit ripe? Is 

the milk cold? Find out through student 

surveys or by doing your own check of 

what is offered.

Give kids a choice.

Participate in the “Offer Versus Serve” option, which allows students to decline some of the 

food offered in a reimbursable lunch or breakfast. Or, consider a salad or produce bar to give 

children more choices among a variety of fruits and veggies.

Cut fruit into smaller pieces.

Whole fruit is more likely to be thrown away. Orange slices and apple quarters are easier

and faster for kids to eat.

Create a Smarter Lunchroom.

Offer a grab-and-go line for kids who want to get through the line faster so they have more

time to eat. Use serving utensils that help kids take reasonable portions. Get more ideas at:

http://smarterlunchrooms.org.
Tips for Teachers

3

Do a class project.

Investigate food waste with your class and ways to reduce it. Consider a composting project. 

Check out these resources from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

www.epa.gov/osw/education/teach_comp.htm.

Learn about food.

Use safe excess foods from the cafeteria for food science and cooking activities in the classroom. 

Encourage healthful choices.

Integrate school gardens and nutrition education activities into Science, Technology, 

Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) classroom lessons. Get free class materials from

Team Nutrition at: http://teamnutrition.usda.gov.

Visit local food producers.

Take a trip to a farm, garden, or farmers market and learn about gleaning, the act of 

collecting excess fresh foods in order to provide it to those in need. Find more information

at: www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/resources/donations.htm.

Fill them with praise, not candy.

Instead of using sweets and food parties as incentives for good behavior or grades, try non-food 

rewards instead. Students may not have an appetite for healthful meals if they fill up on sweets 

and snacks beforehand. 
Tips for Administrators

4

Schedule recess before lunch.

It can reduce plate waste by as much as 30 percent.

Give kids time to eat.

Extending the lunch period from 20 to 30 minutes can help reduce waste by nearly one-third.

Donate safe food.

Partner with your health department and local hunger relief organizations to donate

safe and wholesome food. See the USDA memo on food donation at:

www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/FNS_Guidance.pdf.

Join the U.S. Food Waste Challenge!

Sign up today so your school is recognized. More information is at:

www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/join.htm.
Tips for Parents

Have a try day at home.

If your school offers a food your child has not

eaten before, consider making it and trying it at

home together.

Take action at school.

If you are able, volunteer at your child’s school 

cafeteria and help younger children open milk 

cartons, yogurt, and other food packages.

Make room for healthful meals.

Encourage your school’s parent organization to 

choose fundraisers that do not involve the sale of food 

during the school day. Work with teachers to schedule 

celebrations involving food later in the day. This way, 

kids will not be too full to eat healthful meals at lunch 

and breakfast. Get more information about healthier 

school fundraisers at: www.fns.usda.gov/bestpractices-healthy-school-fundraisers.

Reduce food waste at home.

Wondering what to make with leftover ingredients? 

Find kid-approved recipes at:

http://whatscooking.fns.usda.gov.

Kids need foods from all of the 

five MyPlate food groups to learn, 

grow, play, and stay healthy. But, 

it can be discouraging when 

children do not eat the healthful 

foods offered to them. Keep these 

tips in mind for foods offered at 

home or at school.

• Encourage sensible 

portions.

Teach kids to take smaller 

amounts and then go back for 

seconds if they are still hungry. 

Don’t ask children to eat 

everything on their plate. This 

can teach kids to overeat even 

when their body feels full. 

• New foods take time.

Sometimes children do not 

take to new foods right away. 

If children reject a food, try 

preparing it a different way 

instead of removing it from 

the menu altogether. Nutrition 

education and promotion can 

also help encourage children

to try new foods.

5

Raising

Healthy Eaters.
Tips for Students

Sign up, join in.

Be part of surveys, taste tests, and advisory groups that help your cafeteria decide

what goes on the school menu.

Take it with you.

If your school offers whole fruit and you don’t have time to eat it, take it with you

if your school allows it. Enjoy the fruit later as a snack.

Look around.

If food is being wasted at your school, home, or in your community, work with teachers 

and a student club or student leadership group to come up with ways to reduce, reuse,

or recycle food.

6
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Food and Nutrition Service

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

FNS-553 | July 2016