How To Reduce Food Waste In Schools

Don’t you think it’s about time to stop food waste in schools? There are people in the world who are starving for food, and you’re just throwing it away? There are countless benefits in reducing food waste, some of them include, reducing methane emissions from landfills, because about 94 percent of the food we throw away ends up in landfills or combustion facilities, and we would also be helping people who need food, because the food that we waste can help address the 42 million Americans that live in food insecure households. Pope Francis, who is the sovereign of the Vatican City State, addresses that, “Wasting food is like stealing from the poor. ” Do you really want to steal from the poor? In my opinion, food waste should be reduced in schools, by bringing something from home that you will be able to eat, by sharing your leftovers with the people who want to eat it, and by composting your leftover food.

Students in schools usually don’t want to eat their lunches, because their lunch isn’t something they would prefer to eat, for example, you have spaghetti for your tiffin, and you don’t like to consume it, your food would probably go back home and get wasted, or just thrown out at school. Parents must give their children a meal that they would love and enjoy while eating. About 24-35 percent of lunches get wasted annually. Besides the main reason we choose a particular food is because we like the way it tastes. We don't eat blueberries because they're an excellent source of antioxidants, we eat them because they taste good. Ellie Krieger, who is an American nutritionist, states that, “In my food world, there is no fear or guilt only joy and balance.”

If you would probably not finish your food, you should really consider sharing it to the people who need it. Even in the Quran it says, "And they give food, in spite of their love for it (or for the love of Him), to the poor, the orphan, and the captive. ” Just think about how happy a person would be, if you give something they love (in this case it’s food) to him/her. You don’t want to eat your lunch any way, so it would be nice to give it to someone who would eat it, rather than tossing it in the bin. If people would start sharing or donating more food, then I’m sure we would start seeing a difference in our community very quickly.

Some people do not throw garbage properly or not in the right bin. If you throw your garbage in with recycling,the City of Toronto will fish it out with multi-million- dollar machines and city workers in heavy gloves, but this doesn’t mean we should not stop throwing garbage in recycling, because Tim Michael, the city’s manager of waste diversion, declares, “Although we do get it out, it is costlier for us to sort it out. ” You should have two garbage bins in your school, one for garbage, and the other one for recycling. You could also throw your garbage, and your school’s recycling directly in their carts. That way you would not have any garbage in your recycling. Although it would take a bit more effort, I assure you, it will be worth it.

I believe that wasting food in schools should stop, by getting food you like from home, by donating food you would not be able to eat, and by throwing garbage in the right bin. If you follow these few and simple ideas to get rid of food waste, not only will you be helping the environment, but also be helping yourself, by not having the guilt, that you just threw away your food carelessly. So start from now, and do whatever you can to decrease the food waste in your school and community.