Learn about the types and impacts of food waste, then use kitchen scraps to regrow food and help reduce waste.
Grade Level: K-3
Learning Objectives:
- Differentiate between avoidable and unavoidable food waste
- Identify means of reducing food waste
During this activity students will:
- Learn about the types and impacts of food waste
- Take action by growing vegetables from kitchen scraps
- Share their learning with others
Instructions
- As a class, discuss food waste, especially the difference between avoidable and unavoidable food waste (i.e. Food we could have eaten but we throw away or let spoil vs the parts of food that we don’t usually eat) and the impacts of food waste.
- Talk about how replanting kitchen scraps helps reduce food waste because some foods can grow again from the parts we usually throw away. Explain that you are going to plant some kitchen scraps and watch them grow. Have students determine where to source the scraps needed and how many of each they would like to grow.
- Carefully prepare your plants following the instructions in the PDF.
- Have students tend to their plants over a few weeks and observe them sprouting. Take photos regularly to show the progress.
- After a few weeks, share the results with those around you. You can even create a how-to guide with before, during and after pictures to encourage others to reuse their kitchen scraps.