284 Kilograms of Food Waste Weighed in Aizkraukle Schools in One Week
Food waste was weighed from 12 to 16 October at Aizkraukle Municipality Secondary School and Aizkraukle Vocational Secondary School in Latvia. More than half of the 284.1 kilograms was uneaten food from students' plates.
Food waste was recorded over five days in the canteens of three school buildings in Aizkraukle municipality, Latvia. The campaign took place as part of World Food Day, from 12 to 16 October, at Aizkraukle Municipality Secondary School (in its buildings on Draudzības krastmala and Lāčplēša Street) and at Aizkraukle Vocational Secondary School. The aim was to find out how much food students leave on their plates and what share of prepared food goes uneaten.
How the count was done
The canteens weighed two kinds of waste separately: food left on the plates of pupils and students, and kitchen waste produced during meal preparation.
Results
In five days, a total of 284.1 kilograms of food waste was recorded. Of this, 164.4 kilograms were plate leftovers and 119.7 kilograms were kitchen waste. Uneaten food therefore made up almost 58% of the total.
The report raises questions about how much food remains on students' plates each day, why children and young people turn down salads, and why they sometimes throw away food that is almost untouched. The part of the article available does not provide answers to these questions.
