We live in a world of waste. The USA alone produces enough food to properly feed 10,000,000,000 people. The average person throws out anywhere from 215 to 350 pounds of edible food each year.

School systems and universities waste nearly 169,055 pounds of food each year. Even at our own school, the level of food waste is cringe worthy. However, the waste can most definitely be reduced if students and faculty members alike step up.

LCHS has a “no charge” policy. In a nutshell, the no charge policy states if a student gets more food items than can be afforded, the food item must be disposed of. Our cafeteria’s food item limit is 5, every additional item will add to a higher charge.

Not everyone is fond of this policy.

Fatime Pena (11) said, “I believe it’s a waste of food and we should conserve it for people in need. They shouldn’t have such strict rules concerning the amount of food you have on your plate. You should be able to get what you want to eat and not have to worry about the requirements.”

An anonymous lunch lady said “ The policy bothers me, but we all have to follow the rules. The reasoning behind the policy is that at this point and time in a student’s life, they should be responsible enough to take care of their cafeteria needs.” An eco-friendly alternative would be to place the extra food back into the hot bar sanitarily.

The no charge policy is not the only thing that contributes to the waste.

To count as a meal, a student’s tray must consist of an entree, grain, 2 servings of fruit or vegetables, and milk. This forces some students to place food on their tray that he/she may not want. Therefore, the student disposes of perfectly edible food.

LCHS is not doing things completely incorrectly. A designated area is placed in the sitting area for student’s to place their unwanted food, so that another may eat it. This saves a large amount of food as this area fills and empties quite often throughout the lunch period.

Together the students and faculty can greatly reduce the amount of wasted. Americans live in world of privilege and the abuse of it must come to an end.

Source: http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/08/26/creative-solutions-to-ending-school-food-waste/