Every year, 132 kg of food waste is generated per inhabitant in the EU alone. In school cafeterias, much of this food ends up the same way—discarded. That’s why schools play an essential role in preventing food waste! Here, we introduce 3 tools that will help schools, monitors, and students reduce food waste in school cafeterias.

1. 10 Tips to Prevent Food Waste in the Cafeteria 📚
   We suggest 10 practical tips to reduce food waste in school cafeterias! These tips are based on scientific studies and propose small changes in the cafeteria environment or operations.
2. The Hunger Traffic Light 🚦
   The Hunger Traffic Light provides children with a simple code to reflect on their appetite and indicate how much food they want. This requires a prior agreement on the three portion sizes, ensuring they follow guidelines for a balanced and complete meal.
3. Fruit-Cutting Instructions 🍐
   Did you know that fruit is one of the most commonly discarded foods in school cafeterias? This often happens because students don’t cut it properly, leading to waste of edible parts. Here, you’ll find clear instructions on how to easily cut apples, pears, oranges, and kiwis to make the most of them.

These resources are based on the study “Schools Against Food Waste”, conducted by CREDA and the Espigoladors Foundation, with support from the Catalonia Waste Agency. The study evaluated the potential of cafeteria-based interventions focused on behavior change to reduce food waste. After implementing these and other resources in four pilot schools in the Barcelona metropolitan area, a 30% reduction in food waste was observed on average.