WHAT IS A WASTE-FREE LUNCH PROGRAM?
A waste-free lunch program begins with a statement. A school community decides that it is going to make waste reduction on campus a priority, and one of the best places to start is with lunch and snack waste. Whether the majority of students brings lunch from home or buys it at school, there’s almost always room for improvement. A waste-free lunch program is a process of educating students, parents, and school staff about where our trash ends up and how we, as individuals, can reduce the amount of trash we generate. Waste-free lunch programs favor the use of reusable food containers, drink containers, utensils, and napkins. They discourage the use of disposable packaging, such as prepackaged foods, plastic bags, juice boxes and pouches, paper napkins, and disposable utensils.