Food Waste & Sustainability

Every day, nutritious food – fresh apples, unopened milk cartons and untouched meals – ends up in lunchroom trash cans. LWSD is committed to changing this through proven strategies: Offer versus Serve, share tables, composting, food donations and reusable tableware.

These programs help us prevent good food from being wasted and keep edible food out of landfills while redirecting food back to students who need it, maximizing nutrition and minimizing waste.

• Offer vs. Serve: Offer versus Serve (OVS) is a USDA initiative that gives students the choice to select from the five meal components at lunch, while only requiring them to take three items (one must be a fruit or a vegetable). This encourages students to choose and eat foods they enjoy while lowering food waste.
• Share tables: A share table is a designated area in the lunchroom where students can place uneaten or unopened packaged school food items for other students to take. This simple approach helps ensure that nutritious food reaches students who can benefit from it rather than being discarded.
• Composting
• Food donations: LWSD is piloting a new partnership with EatHappyNow.org.
• Expand use of durable/reusable tableware