{"id":77911,"date":"2025-02-17T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/?p=77911"},"modified":"2025-02-21T11:26:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T11:26:58","slug":"food-waste-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/food-waste-in-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Ways to Reduce Food Waste at School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Food waste has an immensely detrimental effect on the planet and is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the negative environmental impact of food waste has grown so great that the government has introduced mandatory food waste separation<\/a> in an attempt to reduce the amount of food ending up in landfills. Whilst the new legislation greatly impacts the hospitality sector, schools are not exempt and they also generate staggering amounts of food waste. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) found that in one academic year primary schools in the UK generate 68,000 tonnes of food waste<\/a>, whilst secondary schools generate 28,000 tonnes; resulting in an eye-watering total of 96,000 tonnes of food wasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, despite its notable negative impact on the environment, tackling and reducing food waste is not only achievable, it is often easier than you may think. In this article we will discuss the issue of food waste in schools and address some of the most common causes. We will also provide you with 10 ways to reduce food waste in your school.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Food Waste in Schools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WRAP defines food waste as \u2018food and inedible parts sent to one of several waste disposal destinations.\u2019 When this food is sent to a landfill instead of being composted, it produces methane. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is 84 times more potent<\/a> than carbon dioxide and has 28 times the global warming potential. Moreover, when food is wasted, the resources used to grow, rear, process and transport it are also wasted. Not only does this exacerbate resource inefficiency, it wastes money and in light of the fact that almost half of the food wasted by schools is reported to be fruit and vegetables, deprives children of access to important nutrition.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2010 WRAP study<\/a> on food waste in schools found that the majority of food waste in both primary and secondary schools was avoidable. The study reported that 78% of primary school waste<\/strong> and 77% of secondary school waste<\/strong> was avoidable<\/strong> with fruit and vegetables making up the largest proportion of wasted food. Whilst all food waste has an undeniably negative impact on the environment, food waste in schools uniquely impacts children and their access to a diverse and nutritious diet.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Between 2022 and 2023, 7.2 million people<\/a> in the UK were living in food insecure households, an increase of 2.5 million compared to 2021. A household is deemed food insecure when members of the household reduce the quality, variety or desirability of their diets, or disrupt their eating patterns, to reduce their food intake due to a lack of money. As food insecurity continues to increase in the UK, for some children this means that school lunch is the only guaranteed meal of the day. In fact, according to the Food Foundation\u2019s<\/a> Food Insecurity Tracker, 18.7% of households<\/a> with children reported that children were directly experiencing food insecurity in 2024. As such, when food is wasted in schools children miss the opportunity to eat nutritious food, which for some may be the only time that it is accessible to them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2024 report by the charity School Food Matters<\/a> found that whilst demand for free school meals was increasing, funding wasn\u2019t. As a result, 38% of teachers<\/a> reported that their pupils were regularly too hungry to learn. It\u2019s estimated that due to excessively restrictive eligibility criteria over 800,000 children<\/a>, despite the fact that they live in poverty, cannot access free school meals. This puts an even greater demand on schools to provide nutritious and filling food for their pupils so that they have the energy to learn and actively engage in their studies. Food waste therefore unnecessarily exacerbates the financial difficulties of schools that are already reliant on over-stretched budgets and the generosity of staff and parents to feed their pupils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Causes of Food Waste in Schools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In their study on the causes of food waste in schools, WRAP categorised the different causes as either operational, situational or behavioural. <\/strong>Operational reasons include policies and practices relating to school meals and catering, such as policies on portion size flexibility or the number of pupils having school meals each day. Situational reasons relate to the broader school environment, such as the structure of the school day, rather than food specific issues. Behavioural reasons relate to individual behaviours reported to result in unserved and uneaten food.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Causes of food waste in schools includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operational:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n