Rutgers Cooperative Extension- Food Waste Team

The goal of this program is to improve school administration and fifth grade students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, toward adapting food waste reduction practices, and, ultimately, to reduce the amount of food waste produced by the schools in which they work.

The Rutgers Food Waste Team has been successfully partnering with schools since 2018 to implement strategies in schools that reduce the amount of food waste generated by cafeterias.

New Jersey became the first state in the nation to mandate climate education for K-12 public schools. In response, Rutgers Food Waste Team has developed curricula for fifth grades students that address food waste and its effects on the environment. Food waste reduction practices are framed as a solution to the growing environmental implications.