Brasília, Brazil, October 14, 2024 - Confronting food waste becomes increasingly urgent when we are faced with alarming data from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) indicating that 1 billion tons of food were wasted in 2022. This amounts to about one-fifth of total global production. Meanwhile, 41 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean, in addition to 733 million worldwide, are facing hunger, according to the report The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other UN agencies.

Food waste occurs significantly at the final consumption stage, whether in retail or in households. In the school environment, this dialogue encompasses everything from planning purchases, preparing and consuming meals by students, to disposing of leftovers and waste generated during feeding. To tackle this problem, it is necessary to adopt measures that involve all stages of the process of developing school feeding programs.

One of the most effective actions in reducing waste is proper planning of food purchases, always considering dialogue among managers, nutritionists, and farmers. Valuing seasonality and local food culture, encouraging short production and consumption circuits, and training family farmers to meet the demands of school feeding programmes are also essential measures.

Other initiatives include proper storage of food, defining menus that respect local biodiversity, training food service workers, and adjusting portion sizes to the age of students. It is also fundamental to recommend the reuse of stems, peels, and seeds in new recipes, avoiding unnecessary waste.

Another relevant strategy is food and nutrition education, as promoting and educating about the consumption of nutritious foods increases the likelihood of acceptance of meals composed of legumes, vegetables, and fruits offered in schools. Furthermore, this education contributes to the formation of healthy and sustainable habits that impact students and their families.

A valuable tool is the implementation of educational gardens in schools. In addition to encouraging the consumption of fresh and healthy foods and allowing contact with the environment, gardens enable the use of organic waste for composting, creating a sustainable cycle in which food is grown, consumed, and its remnants return to the soil, closing the cycle ecologically.

Successful experiences are already taking place in Brazil and other countries in the LAC region, with projects that adjust the quantity of food served and measure waste, promoting awareness among students and communities about the importance of avoiding it, especially in a world where millions face food insecurity and climate change affects everyone.

To ensure that these initiatives scale up, it is essential that practices to combat food waste are institutionalized in the school environment as part of pedagogical and curricular actions. Law No. 11,947/2009, which regulates the National School Feeding Programme (PNAE), provides for the inclusion of food and nutrition education practices in the teaching and learning process, addressing topics such as healthy eating and food security.

This legislation also establishes that at least 30% of the food acquired for the school feeding programme must come from family farming. This strengthens short circuits of production, transport, and consumption, facilitates logistics, and encourages the use of local products, which significantly contributes to reducing waste of acquired food.

Another important strategy is the Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES), created by the National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE) and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), with the secretariat by FAO. RAES promotes dialogues and exchanges among countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to discuss solutions and challenges related to food loss and waste, as an important component of school feeding programmes.

Finally, combating food waste in the school environment requires a joint effort from governments, decision-makers, parliamentarians, civil society, school managers, and, above all, educators, nutritionists, food handlers, students, and their families. Lasting change depends on awareness of the role that each individual plays in this fight by making conscious daily choices committed to the planet and future generations.

Article written by Najla Veloso, coordinator of the project Regional Agenda for Sustainable School Feeding in Latin America and the Caribbean, from the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Programme