Elementary school students learn about food waste in South Portland

SOUTH PORTLAND (WGME) — Students at Brown Elementary School in South Portland are learning about reducing food waste.

Researchers from the University of Maine were at the school Thursday afternoon as part of their ongoing Maine school cafeteria wasted food study.

They taught students about things like proper nutrition and trying not to throw food away, instead sharing it with friends or compositing it for future fruits and vegetables.

Now, students will weigh their daily food scraps to measure any changes.

“It’s meant to prove that we can do interventions at the school that can actually result in both improved student nutrition and reduce wasted food in the cafeteria,” UMaine Faculty Fellow Susanne Lee said.

“Understanding how to build a healthy plate, being able to understand the value in the food, that we’re not just taking food for food, we’re using it to help fuel our bodies, and so there’s a lot of positive information that they can use,” Food Service Director Shawn Perry said.

This is all part of an eight-week study developed by the nonprofit Food Rescue Maine, aiming to improve nutrition and teach students the difference between food and waste through hands-on learning.