ReFED and World Wildlife Fund's September 26th webinar—"Reducing Food Waste in Schools: Transforming Cafeterias through Community-Driven and Grassroots Initiatives"—provided an opportunity for audience members to hear directly from educators and students about practical solutions they're using to cut the amount of food waste generated in K-12 schools in their communities.

During the session, WWF’s Alex Nichols-Vinueza led a discussion among five panelists about food waste prevention, recovery, and recycling in schools. Key discussion points included the extent of the problem, overcoming the barriers to implementing solutions, and perceptions of food waste among school administrators and students. Importantly, they also discussed specific strategies that audience members could leverage in their own schools.

Panelists included:

• Advika Agarwal, Co-Founder of Compostology and current student at Johns Hopkins University

• Shrusti Amula, Founder of Rise N Shine Foundation and current student at Georgetown University

• Tara Happy, Environmental Sciences educator at Hollis Primary School in New Hampshire

• Susanne Lee, Faculty Fellow at the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine

• Joe Richardson, Founder of Lunch Out of Landfills in Maryland

Throughout the webinar, panelists and attendees shared resources on reducing food waste in schools. Here is a list of those resources:

• Join the Coalition to Re-Imagine School Waste

• K-12 Action Guide: Be A Food Waste Warrior (WWF)

• California's Organic Waste Law: SB1383 Fact Sheet (Replate)

• California's Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy (CalRecycle)

• Share Table Video Walkthroughs (StopWaste)

• Food Waste Prevention and Donation at School (StopWaste)

• Food Waste Reduction Toolkit for Illinois Schools (Wasted Food Action Alliance)

• Bill Emerson Act Primer (Feeding America)

• Food Sharing Tables Guidance for Schools (Maine CDC Health Inspection Program)

• Share Fridge Signage Example (MCCPTA & Regenerative Solutions)

• Use of Share Tables in Child Nutrition Programs (USDA)

• Food Rescue Maine Study (Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions)

Important note: These resources have not been vetted by ReFED.