Model State Law on Reducing Food Waste in K–12 Public Schools

Coauthored with Linda Breggin and Taalin RaoShah of the Environmental Law Institute 

NRDC and the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) recently released a Model State Law on Reducing Food Waste in K–12 Public Schools, a template law that can be adapted and enacted by states to advance food waste reduction in kindergarten through 12th grade (K–12) public schools. 

More than seven billion meals are served each year to the nation’s 45.4 million children enrolled in K–12 public schools. These schools are substantial generators of food waste in the United States. A 2019 U.S. Department of Agriculture study estimated that more than 20 percent of food served in schools is wasted, and the amount is higher—roughly 30 percent—for milk and vegetables. Furthermore, a 2019 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) study that analyzed food waste in 46 schools in nine cities across eight states found that, on average, the schools generated approximately 39.2 pounds of food waste per student per year and approximately 28.7 cartons of milk waste per student per year. On the basis of its sample, WWF estimates that at the national level, schools may generate approximately 530,000 tons of food waste and 45 million gallons of milk waste each year—costing around $1.7 billion annually. 

Not only are considerable financial and nutritional loss associated with school food waste, but the environmental impacts are significant. WWF estimates that annual school food waste accounts for “1.9M MTCO2e of embedded greenhouse gases [and] 20.9B gallons of [wasted] water.” In addition, WWF estimates that well above 400,000 tons of school food waste may be disposed of in landfills each year, where it emits methane gas as it decays. 

Reducing food waste in schools can lead to substantial cost savings, which in some cases schools can reinvest in improved meal quality and nutrition or education programs. Some food waste reduction strategies can also help combat food insecurity by rescuing edible food and redirecting it to hungry students or community members. In addition, many food waste reduction practices can increase meal consumption, helping to ensure that students receive crucial nutritional benefits. 

This model is intended to help states advance food waste reduction in K–12 public schools by providing clean, “off-the-shelf” legal language for a range of measures, which are to be situated within states’ legal and regulatory frameworks for public education governance. 

Specifically, the model requires public schools to implement “offer versus serve” (OVS) for all grade levels for breakfast and lunch. OVS—which is already required under the National School Lunch Program for lunches served at senior high schools—is a concept that allows students to decline some food items offered in a meal. Furthermore, the model requires that lunch periods include a minimum of 25 minutes of seated time and be scheduled after any scheduled recess period. The model also provides for schools to institute “share tables,” which are tables or stations where students may return certain food or beverage items they choose not to consume; these items can then be taken by other students, re-served for another meal service, or donated to a nonprofit organization in compliance with federal and state laws governing food donation by schools.  

In addition to these requirements, the model encourages public schools to offer lactose-free milk products, consider shelf-stable milk products, enhance food presentation, market school meals to students, compost food waste, and conduct a periodic school food waste audit. Furthermore, the model permits schools to use bulk milk dispensers.  

The model also provides other strategies to help states and public school districts advance food waste reduction in public schools, including through procurement, awareness campaigns, employee training, staffing, grants and incentives, and implementation plans.  

The model is accompanied by a background memorandum, which offers an overview of the complex framework for public education governance in the United States—featuring a latticework of laws, institutions, and norms at the federal, state, and local levels of government—and highlights the key entities and federal programs relevant to food provision in public schools. The memorandum also includes commentaries for each section of the model, including analysis and examples for each food waste reduction measure.  

A slide deck is provided to help state-level staff or advocates share the model with decision-makers and other stakeholders. 

The model is also accompanied by a model resolution that can be enacted by state legislatures to encourage the reduction of food waste in K–12 public schools through food waste prevention, surplus food rescue, and food scrap recycling and can serve as a first step toward the eventual enactment of the model.  

This model is part of an ongoing collaborative effort between NRDC and ELI to provide states, municipalities, and advocates with tools to reduce the time and resources associated with taking actions to reduce food waste.