School canteens and the food waste challenge: Which public initiatives can help?

Nutrition quality and food and packaging waste associated with the school food system: A pilot, citizen science study in an Irish secondary school

BACKGROUND

School is an important setting for creating healthy and sustainable food environments. Using participatory methods, this pilot study examined food and packaging waste and nutrition quality within the school food system.

METHODS

One secondary school in Ireland participated in a waste audit. Eleven male students (15-17 years) participated as citizen scientists. Students collected waste over 1 day and documented data on waste categories. Nutrition labels were photographed for analysis. Students created a video and participated in a focus group. Quantitative data were summarised using descriptive frequencies. A Nutrient Profile Model was applied to summarise nutrition quality. The focus group discussion was analysed using content analysis.

RESULTS

Highest weights of waste were organic waste (14.2 kg), paper and cardboard (5.0 kg), and hard plastics (4.1 kg). Materials banned by the European Union Single Use Plastics Directive were found. Recycling bins were contaminated with food waste. Nutrition labels from 132 food packages were analysed, of which 115 items (87%) were low-nutrient, energy dense foods. Confectionary, energy bars and desserts and savoury snacks were the most common packaged food groups. Students were not surprised by the unhealthy food choices; however, they were shocked and saddened at the waste practices. Their proposed solutions mapped across individual, community and organisational levels.

CONCLUSIONS

The methodologies allowed successful engagement with students on this topic. The use of unnecessary plastics to serve food, poor waste separation practices, and the production of avoidable waste from low-nutrient, energy-dense products were key issues identified. Students proposed solutions that are achievable in the short-term.

Interventions to Strengthen Environmental Sustainability of School Food Systems: Narrative Scoping Review

School food systems play a role in the wider food system, but there is a scarcity of literature exploring interventions that aim to improve the environmental sustainability of school food systems. The present review aimed to understand and describe the types of interventions that have previously been explored to strengthen the sustainability of school food systems along with their impact. We applied a scoping review methodology guided by Arksey and O'Malley, which included a review of the online database Scopus and the grey literature. Information relating to intervention design, study population, evaluation method and impact were extracted. In total, 6016 records were screened for eligibility, 24 of which were eligible for inclusion. The most common types of interventions were school lunch menus designed to be more sustainable; school food waste reduction; sustainable food system education using school gardens; and dietary interventions with added environmental components. This review highlights a range of interventions which could positively influence the environmental sustainability of school food systems. Further research is needed to explore the effectiveness of such interventions.

Sustainability Recommendations and Practices in School Feeding: A Systematic Review

Considering the importance of schools for sustainable food offers and the formation of conscientious citizens on sustainability, this systematic review aimed to verify the recommendations on sustainability in school feeding policies and the sustainability practices adopted in schools. The research question that guided this study is "what are the recommendations on sustainability in school feeding policies and the sustainability practices adopted in schools?". This systematic review was prepared according to PRISMA, and its checklist was registered in PROSPERO. Specific search strategies for Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed, Lilacs, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global were developed. The included studies' methodological quality was evaluated using the Meta-Analysis Statistical Assessment and Review Instrument (MASTARI). A total of 134 studies were selected for a full reading. Of these, 50 met the eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. Several sustainability practices were described. The most cited are school gardens and education activities for sustainability. However, actions carried out in food services were also mentioned, from the planning of menus and the purchase of raw materials (mainly local and organic foods, vegetarian/vegan menus) to the distribution of meals (reduction of organic and inorganic waste: composting, recycling, donating food, and portion sizes). Recommendations for purchasing sustainable food (organic, local, and seasonal), nutrition education focused on sustainability, and reducing food waste were frequent; this reinforces the need to stimulate managers' view, in their most varied spheres, for the priority that should be given to this theme, so that education for sustainability is universally part of the curricula. The importance of education in enabling individuals to promote sustainable development is reaffirmed in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). The development of assessment instruments can help monitor the evolution of sustainable strategies at schools and the main barriers and potentialities related to their implementation.