Cut Waste, Not Nutrition, in School Meals
August 2023
In the United States, over one-third of all available food is uneaten due to loss or waste, 1 costing an estimated $218 billion annually,2 and food waste in the school meals program (also known as plate waste) is consistent with this overall trend. In FY 2019, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) served 4.9 billion lunches3 and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) served 2.5 billion breakfasts, 4 providing key nutrition for millions of kids annually. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, nearly one-third of all vegetables and milk served is wasted in NSLP.5 The World Wildlife Fund estimates that 530,000 tons of food and 45 million gallons of milk is wasted per year in school cafeterias. 6 Addressing the issue of food waste has important implications for increasing food security and saving resources. The reduction of food waste can also mitigate climate change — food is the single largest category of material in U.S. municipal landfills, where it emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas, as it decomposes.
Cut Waste, Not Nutrition, in School Meals
August 2023
In the United States, over one-third of all available food is uneaten due to loss or waste, 1 costing an estimated $218 billion annually,2 and food waste in the school meals program (also known as plate waste) is consistent with this overall trend. In FY 2019, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) served 4.9 billion lunches3 and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) served 2.5 billion breakfasts, 4 providing key nutrition for millions of kids annually. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, nearly one-third of all vegetables and milk served is wasted in NSLP.5 The World Wildlife Fund estimates that 530,000 tons of food and 45 million gallons of milk is wasted per year in school cafeterias. 6 Addressing the issue of food waste has important implications for increasing food security and saving resources. The reduction of food waste can also mitigate climate change — food is the single largest category of material in U.S. municipal landfills, where it emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas, as it decomposes.
