Abstract
Background
Food waste is a global problem. School food waste before the point of purchase, pre-consumer
waste, has been little studied.
Objective
Our aim was to elicit a comprehensive assessment and understanding of pre-consumer
food waste amounts, behaviors, policies, and attitudes.
Design
This study used mixed methods, featuring a convergent parallel design using key respondent
interviews (n=20) and 80 hours of structured kitchen observations, including food
waste measurement.
Participants/setting
School and district kitchens (n=14) using stratified random sampling to ensure school
level and kitchen type reflected the population of three Colorado school districts
in 2016-2017. Kitchen managers, district-level nutrition services directors, and sustainability
staff were interviewed.
Statistical analyses performed
Mean food waste volumes and percentages were calculated. Linear regressions were used
to determine the relationship between school kitchen characteristics and food waste
volumes. Interviews were coded to identify common themes.
Results
Trim waste and overproduction contributed the most to overall pre-consumer food waste;
substandard foods and overproduction were the most common reasons for edible waste.
Several competing priorities conflicted with schools’ and districts’ waste reduction
efforts: food safety, promoting diet quality, food choice, and customer satisfaction.
Batch cooking, production record use, shallow salad bar pans, and other inventory
management techniques facilitated waste reduction. Staffing, space, and time constraints
made it more difficult to implement these strategies. Increased food choice options
were positively associated with pre-consumer waste volume (β=49.5, P=0.04), and this relationship remained significant once regression models adjusted
for district, salad bar use, and new menu items (β=70.3, P=0.05).
Conclusions
School nutrition programs are complex, and a systems approach is warranted to reduce
overall waste in the context of existing food safety and nutrition policies. More
research is needed to elucidate the impact of food choice on overall food waste of
the school meal system.
Keywords
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Biography
M. P. Prescott is an assistant professor of School/Childhood Foods and Nutrition, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana.
Biography
C. Herritt is a graduate research assistant, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Biography
M. Bunning is a associate professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Biography
L. Cunningham-Sabo is a associate professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 14, 2019
Accepted:
March 8,
2019
Received:
July 12,
2018
Footnotes
Supplementary materials: Figures 1 and 2 are available at www.jandonline.org
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This material is based on work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, US Department of Agriculture, under award number 2017-67012-28197. Any opinions, findings, or recommendations in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the US Department of Agriculture.
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© 2019 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
