Testing interventions to reduce food waste in school catering
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors tested four interventions (tasting spoons, awareness campaign, a plate waste tracker and a guest forecasting tool) designed to reduce food waste in school canteens.
Abstract: Food waste is a problem that needs to be addressed to achieve sustainable development. There is a need for interventions that can reduce food waste, including in organisations already aware of the food waste problem. Swedish school canteens have experience of food waste reduction, but need tools to achieve further reductions. This study tested four interventions (tasting spoons, awareness campaign, a plate waste tracker and a guest forecasting tool) designed to reduce food waste in school canteens. Each intervention was introduced in two school canteens, while seven school canteens acted as a reference group. The interventions were compared with baseline food waste before the intervention and with the reference group. All interventions reduced total food waste (by 6 to 44 g/guest) compared with the baseline, but the reference group also reduced its food waste. The awareness campaign reduced plate waste most, by 13 g per portion, which was 6 g/portion more than the plate waste reduction in the reference group. The forecasting and plate waste tracker interventions reduced serving waste most, by 34 and 38 g/portion, compared with 11 g/portion in the reference group. Some interventions also had an effect on waste fractions they were not designed to target, affecting the total waste by shifting the waste. Interventions should always be seen in a context and be implemented in combinations that increase overall sustainability. Thus forecasting is an effective way to reduce serving waste, plate waste tracker and awareness campaign are effective tools to reduce plate waste in school canteens.
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TL;DR: In this article , food waste quantification in school canteens in two Swedish municipalities and nine qualitative interviews with key actors were conducted to gain insight into reasons for food waste and possible solutions for lowering food waste in schools in Sweden.
Abstract: Public food service organizations are large producers of food waste, which leads to greenhouse gas emissions and the waste of natural resources. The aim of the present article was to gain insight into reasons for food waste and possible solutions for lowering food waste in schools in Sweden. In order to do so, food waste quantification in school canteens in two Swedish municipalities and nine qualitative interviews with key actors were conducted. Both municipalities displayed a high degree of variation in food waste, but the common pattern was that serving waste constituted the largest fraction of food waste, followed by plate waste and storage waste, as well as a gradual decrease in food waste over time. Food waste was mainly a result of old, disadvantageous habits, such as overproduction due to forecasting difficulties, whereas new, better routines such as serving fewer options, better planning, and a less stressful environment are the key to lowering food waste. Because food waste varies from one case to the next, it becomes important to identify and measure the causes of food waste in each school in order to be able to establish tailor-made, conscious, and flexible food waste mitigation routines.
7 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper , eight years of food waste quantification data from Swedish public catering were used to monitor changes and evaluate progress towards global reduction targets, and a 15-30% reduction was observed.
Abstract: Global food waste reductions are difficult to evaluate. The global ambition is to halve food waste by 2030. In this study, eight years of food waste quantification data from Swedish public catering were used to monitor changes and evaluate progress towards global reduction targets. A 15–30% reduction was observed and the current trend was a declining level of food waste within the sector. The goal of halving food waste by 2030 appears to be achievable, provided that all canteens perform in line with those studied. However, the canteens studied may represent the best-performing, so the actual change or current levels of food waste may have been underestimated. The present situation (2020) is that approximately 19,000–21,000 tonnes of food waste are generated annually in Swedish preschools and schools. Therefore, canteens in these establishments need appropriate tools to monitor waste levels and progress, and incentives encouraging them to continue reducing food waste.
3 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper , a food-waste initiative was conducted at two university canteens in the UK and India to examine foodwaste attitudes and opportunities for food waste reduction.
Abstract: A food-waste initiative was conducted at two university canteens in the UK and India to examine food-waste attitudes and opportunities for food-waste reduction. Interventions were carried out to reduce food waste in both canteens. In the Indian canteen, postintervention data also included COVID-19-related changes, such as a change from self-service to table service, as well as reduced menu choices and an improved estimation of the number of students requiring meals. Surveys and focus groups were conducted with students to better understand their food-waste-related attitudes, while interviews were carried out with university staff to better understand food-waste management. The study in the UK university canteen found that introducing table cards, posters, and signs led to food-waste reductions of 13%. Meanwhile, the study in the Indian university canteen found that the interventions and COVID-19 impacts led to food-waste reductions of 50%. Concerning food-waste-related differences between the UK and India, culture and food preferences were key reasons for food waste in India, with 40.5% more participants in India stating that they wasted food because the ‘food didn’t taste good’. Students in India were more concerned about social issues and food poverty related to food waste, with around 9% more participants stating that the ‘food could be used by others’. Meanwhile, students in the UK were more bothered by the economic and environmental impacts of food waste, with around 31% more participants stating food waste is ‘a waste of money’, and is ‘bad for the environment’ when compared to India. Key opportunities for both countries included adopting food-sharing initiatives, informed menu choices, and meal planning, as well as student-led engagement projects.
3 citations
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TL;DR: In this article , a study was conducted within the framework of a research project aimed at detecting patterns of plate waste and developing recommendations for improving catering in seven schools in Rezekne city (Latvia) by a combination of observation, physical weighing, semi-structured interview approaches and statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Abstract: This research was conducted within the framework of a research project aimed at detecting patterns of plate waste and developing recommendations for improving catering in seven schools in Rezekne city (Latvia) by a combination of observation, physical weighing, semi-structured interview approaches and statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA). We identified plate waste (including wasted beverages), which remains after the lunch of schoolchildren in grades 1–7, examining a total of 7064 lunch samples. The originality of the research is due to the fact that a unified menu was designed for the field study, which ensured the same field study conditions in all the schools. The results of the research revealed that the average weight of plate waste per schoolchild reached 178 g, and the total weight of plate waste accounted for 28.75% of the total weight of food served. No significant differences in plate waste weight between various age groups and grades of schoolchildren were found, which was also confirmed by a one-way ANOVA test. An analysis of plate waste by food category showed that beverages accounted for the largest share of total plate waste (42.24%), followed by staple food (28.38%) and meat (11.77%). An analysis of plate waste shares of food served (%) by food category revealed a similar situation: the largest share of food served was made up of beverages (37.56%), followed by staple food (36.48%) and meat (28.77%). An analysis of the monetary value of food waste showed that the average cost of plate waste (excluding beverage) per schoolchild was EUR 0.236, which represented 16.6% of the national and municipal funding of EUR 1.42 per portion. Given the research results, the authors have concluded that in order to reduce the amount of plate waste generated by Rezekne city schools, school menus should be based not only on the requirements prescribed by relevant legal acts but also on cooking processes that meet the requirements of modern consumers (learners), e.g., by following trends in cooking practices in society to make the learners interested in consuming school food.
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TL;DR: In this paper , the authors explored the potential gains of applying the Environmental Code, potential benchmarking thresholds for illegal levels of food waste and best voluntary practices that can achieve low levels of waste.
2 citations
References
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01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: The Scoping meeting on collaboration between Regional Seas Programmes and Regional Fisheries Bodies in the Southwest Indian Ocean is described in this article, where the authors propose a framework for collaboration between regional sea programmes and regional fisheries bodies in the Indian Ocean.
Abstract: Information document of the Scoping meeting on collaboration between Regional Seas Programmes and Regional Fisheries Bodies in the Southwest Indian Ocean
13,752 citations
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Harvard University1, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research2, Stockholm Resilience Centre3, University of Oxford4, City University London5, Chatham House6, World Wide Fund for Nature7, Environmental Change Institute8, University of California, Santa Barbara9, University of Minnesota10, CGIAR11, Johns Hopkins University12, American University of Beirut13, Wageningen University and Research Centre14, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation15, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur16, ETH Zurich17, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation18, University of Indonesia19, World Health Organization20, Food and Agriculture Organization21, International Food Policy Research Institute22, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences23, University of Auckland24, Public Health Foundation of India25, Centre for Science and Environment26
TL;DR: Food in the Anthropocene : the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems focuses on meat, fish, vegetables and fruit as sources of protein.
4,710 citations
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University of Oxford1, University of Minnesota2, International Food Policy Research Institute3, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation4, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research5, Technical University of Madrid6, Wageningen University and Research Centre7, Chatham House8, Stockholm Resilience Centre9, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences10, Bioversity International11, American University of Beirut12, Johns Hopkins University13, University of California, Santa Barbara14, Harvard University15
TL;DR: A global model finds that the environmental impacts of the food system could increase by 60–90% by 2050, and that dietary changes, improvements in technologies and management, and reductions in food loss and waste will all be needed to mitigate these impacts.
Abstract: The food system is a major driver of climate change, changes in land use, depletion of freshwater resources, and pollution of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems through excessive nitrogen and phosphorus inputs. Here we show that between 2010 and 2050, as a result of expected changes in population and income levels, the environmental effects of the food system could increase by 50–90% in the absence of technological changes and dedicated mitigation measures, reaching levels that are beyond the planetary boundaries that define a safe operating space for humanity. We analyse several options for reducing the environmental effects of the food system, including dietary changes towards healthier, more plant-based diets, improvements in technologies and management, and reductions in food loss and waste. We find that no single measure is enough to keep these effects within all planetary boundaries simultaneously, and that a synergistic combination of measures will be needed to sufficiently mitigate the projected increase in environmental pressures.
1,521 citations
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TL;DR: To meet the challenge of promoting healthy weight in children in the current eating environment, parents need guidance regarding alternatives to traditional feeding practices.
Abstract: The first years of life mark a time of rapid development and dietary change, as children transition from an exclusive milk diet to a modified adult diet. During these early years, children's learning about food and eating plays a central role in shaping subsequent food choices, diet quality, and weight status. Parents play a powerful role in children's eating behavior, providing both genes and environment for children. For example, they influence children's developing preferences and eating behaviors by making some foods available rather than others, and by acting as models of eating behavior. In addition, parents use feeding practices, which have evolved over thousands of years, to promote patterns of food intake necessary for children's growth and health. However in current eating environments, characterized by too much inexpensive palatable, energy dense food, these traditional feeding practices can promote overeating and weight gain. To meet the challenge of promoting healthy weight in children in the current eating environment, parents need guidance regarding alternatives to traditional feeding practices.
1,235 citations