Everyone loves getting school lunches, especially when they’re free. We all love pizza, chicken nuggets, burgers, or even sandwiches. But do we love the vegetables or fruit that comes with the main dish? Most likely not. The fruit and vegetable sides are required to be given to the students by the district. Everyone has gotten school lunch at least once before and we all know we have thrown away the vegetable/fruit side.

The research was novel because it presents an assessment of the environmental and cost impacts of food provided and wasted in the cafeteria, including quantification of the amount of food served, consumed and wasted, and the corresponding nutritional content squandered. For example, researchers pegged the waste at 85% at the food procurement stage, with a correspondingly higher influence on global warming. So why do they continue to give us the side knowing ¾ of it will end up in the trash. Is this wasteful? In my opinion… yes. School’s janitors and staff see how much is wasted when they change the trash cans at lunch. I have seen a trash can overflowing with bags of carrots, apples, and salads. The janitor who replaced the trash didn’t look bothered at all.

If the staff and school board notice how much food they’re wasting, then why keep forcing us to take the food?  If a student denies the side and says they won’t eat it, then they should have that option to not take the food. An innovative assessment of food waste at a U.S. school by an international team of researchers suggests that American school cafeterias waste more food than those in other developed countries, and the true costs extend well beyond just the weight of food not eaten. Forcing us to take something that we would just throw away isn’t the smartest nor healthiest option. While I do know some kids who eat the sides, most throw them away immediately after getting it.

The same goes for the milk cartons. One of the biggest categories of waste for many schools is milk. Everyone knows the milk cartons aren’t the best to drink as some people have complained about them being moldy, watery, and just all in all gross. So many kids, once again, throw the milk away as soon as getting it. Students, in all grades, waste vegetables and fruit the most, representing more than 50% of their plate waste. In comparison, faculty members waste about 43% of these categories. Schools also waste about $5 million worth of edible food every school day. That’s $1.2 billion in losses per school year. The price tag is bad enough but tacitly teaching children that it’s OK to throw out untouched portions of cheese ravioli and chicken tenders may be even worse.

So are schools wasting perfectly good food by obligating us to have it with our primary meal? Why do schools waste so much? The quality of food can be questionable, given the lack of on-site cooking facilities and minimal USDA funding.