Taking a Bite out of Lunchroom Waste
May 19, 2025 - Meag Schwartz, Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative and Tracy D'Augustino, Michigan State University Extension
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EmailTaking a Bite out of Lunchroom Waste is designed to provide you and your students with the information and tools to help reduce lunchroom waste and marine debris at a system level. The goal is to help your students discover they have the power to make a difference in their school and community. The process developed through this curriculum will introduce students to trash, how it becomes marine debris and its impact on our Great Lakes. After students explore the problem of marine debris and how we contribute to it, it's important to provide an avenue for them to begin to fix the problem.
The curriculum provides tools for youth to audit and analyze the waste produced in their school lunchroom. Post-analysis, students will choose one or more target items/categories of waste then brainstorm and research how to reduce it. During their research students may need to interview lunchroom staff, school administrators or other decision makers. They may learn about the rules or laws that must be followed by school lunchroom staff as they design a plan to reduce their targeted waste item. Finally they will advocate for change through a feasibility plan they present to decision makers in their school. We encourage you to engage your students annually in this process, preventing marine debris by reducing lunchroom waste, one bite at a time.
