Activity 1: Preventing Food Waste at School

1. Project slide 5 of the Preventing Food Waste at School slide deck.
2. Divide the class into groups of 2-3 students and assign each group a topic from slide 5. (You may assign multiple groups the same topic)
   • Food Waste Audits 
   • Share Table Approach 
   • Composting/Vermicomposting 
   • Offer vs. Serve (OVS) 
3. Explain to students that they will create a “billboard” or advertisement that should aim to educate and persuade others in the school to adopt or implement their assigned strategy. 
   • If you do not have access to large poster paper or large sticky notes, consider creating a class Google slide deck, where each group can simultaneously work on their slide. 
4. Give students time to research their assigned topic. You may refer students to USDA’s Reducing Food Waste at K-12 Schools for additional information. 
5. In addition to general facts and information about their food waste and their assigned strategy, instruct students to also answer the following questions: 
   • Besides reducing food waste, how else would this strategy benefit our school?  
   • How can our school begin implementing this strategy? 
   • How can we educate the entire student body about reducing food waste at school? 
6. Remind students that these posters or slides should aim to educate the rest of the school and persuade others to minimize food waste at school.
7. Once completed, allow students to share their billboards or posters with the rest of the class. Consider inviting administration or lunch personnel to come listen. 
8. If possible, hang posters outside in the hallway or around the school. 
9. For supplemental instruction or activities, consider reviewing slides 6-10 and 12-16 on the Preventing Food Waste at School slide deck.

Activity 2: Preventing Food Waste at Home

1. Project the Rethinking Food image on the board. 
2. Ask students to look at their options and ask:
   • Which of these products would you eat?
   • How many of you think you’d throw these items out? 
3. Using “think-pair-share,” allow students to come up with ways they’d utilize these foods before throwing them away to prevent food waste.
   • Ripened bananas: banana breads, cookies, or muffins; pureed banana ice cream
   • Stale bread: croutons, French toast
   • Sour milk: yogurt or buttermilk 
   • Ugly or old produce: soups, casseroles, stir fry, sauces, and broths 
4. Explain to students that as consumers (during the consumer stage of the food chain), they should be aware of additional meals that can be made with old, stale, or over-ripened foods. Solutions like this prevent food from ending up in the landfill. 
5. Using the Preventing Food Waste at Home slide deck, discuss slides 4-6 and review strategies to prevent food waste at home. 

Activity 3: Shopping Sustainably

1. Ask students to pretend they are responsible for grocery shopping for the next week.
2. Provide students with a blank sheet of paper and ask students to create a shopping list of foods they’d buy for the next week for who’s living at home with them. Explain to students that they have $150 budgeted for grocery shopping.  
3. If needed, allow students to use grocery store apps or websites to see the prices of various items. 
4. Ask students to create a list of food items they would purchase with the $150.
5. Allow students to share what they purchased. 
6. Ask students: 
   • Did any of you consider food items you might already have at home? 
   • Did any of you buy specific foods or ingredients to make a specific meal? 
   • Does your shopping list consist mainly of fresh produce and foods, or processed, packaged items? 
   • Does the way we grocery shop help decrease food waste? If so, how? 
7. Using the Preventing Food Waste at Home slide deck, discuss slides 7-12, including sustainable shopping and storing food. 
8. Explain to students that when we are more intentional about the items we purchase—including when we purchase food and how much we purchase—we can help lower food waste at home. 
9. Using slide 13, assign each group of students a list of ingredients. 
   • Canned black beans, brussels sprouts, chicken thighs
   • Bell pepper, canned cranberry sauce, porkchops 
   • Canned chickpeas, squash, spaghetti
   • Breadcrumbs, broccoli, canned tuna 
10. Provide students with the following links or create QR codes:
    • FoodKeeper App
    • Cold Food Storage Chart
    • SuperCook App
11. Instruct students to use the provided links to look up how long each item can be stored before freshness and quality is compromised. 
12. Using SuperCook (or a similar website) Students should then use the assigned ingredients to come up with an entrée or appetizer that they’d be willing to prepare and eat. 
13. Explain to students that keeping an accurate inventory of your pantry and fridge can help eliminate food waste.