Topic: Food Waste in K-12 Schoolstitle: Food Waste Prevention and Reduction Pilot in Baltimore City Schools: Food Matters - for Students, Faculty and Staff

Wasted food has gained much attention in recent years both nationally and globally. Despite this recent focus, excessive food waste has been a burgeoning issue for decades. Food insecurity and hunger - perplexingly - continue concomitantly while landfills are increasingly fed opposed to people. Many organizations are focusing on K-12 schools to help curb rampant food waste as both significant contributors to food waste and vehicles for food waste prevention education among students. To appreciate the totality of resources lost when food is wasted, the authors uses the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus framework to assess the total cost of resources lost when food is wasted. FEW has become part of the food systems lexicon used to describe food activity in the current anthropogenic era. This framework is a useful tool for assessing regional food waste challenges and opportunities. Breaking the nexus down into three components - water/food; food/energy and water/energy, can help local, state and Federal governments achieve more efficient management of natural resources. With an estimated 40% of all food grown in the U.S. going to landfills and incinerators, the management of FEW systems leaves much to be desired. A FEW framing can connect with various curriculum elements from math to science to reading - weaving in FEW constructs can help students gain an appreciation for the environmental impact of our food system at an early age. These learnings can foster a food waste reduction and prevention culture among students that shapes their perspective and behaviors into adolescence and adulthood