ACTIVITY

My Food Waste Diary – From Awareness to Action

The students reflect on their own food waste habits, keep a food waste diary for one week, and present their results to design group posters with practical tips on how to reduce food waste.

The intention is to help students understand the reasons and scale of food waste in their daily lives and to empower them to propose concrete solutions for more sustainable food consumption.

1

Introduction and discussion (20 min)

My Food Waste Diary – From Awareness to Action: “Why does food waste happen? Which food is most often wasted at home? What else do we waste when throwing away food (money, water, energy, labour)?”

2

Class reflection (15 min)

In small groups, students share Brainstorming what is wasted most in their families and why.

Groups present main reasons (too much cooked, past date, storage, picky eaters).

3

Introducing the Food Waste Diary (20 min)

Explanation of the diary structure: students record what was thrown away, how much, and why (for 7 days).

Students receive diaries and agree on rules: be honest, fill in daily, bring back next week.

4

Planning and commitment (15 min)

Students set personal goals: “One thing I will try to waste less this week.”

Personal goals are collected on the board or in a shared space.

5

Wrap-up (10 min)

  • Reminder to fill in diary daily.
  • Explanation on what will happen next session.

 

Homework: Keep the diary for 7 days, write down all food wasted (what, how much, why).

6

Sharing results (25 min)

Students bring diaries, work in groups to summarise:

      • Which food was wasted the most?
      • Why did this happen?

Groups record results on flipchart paper.

7

Class synthesis (15 min)

Each group presents findings. They compile a class list of “Top 5 wasted foods” and main reasons.

8

My Food Waste Diary – From Awareness to Action – How to reduce waste (30 min)

In groups, students create posters with practical tips (e.g. meal planning, freezing bread, creative use of leftovers).

Posters are decorated with drawings or food images from magazines/flyers.

9

Gallery walk and reflection (15 min)

Groups display posters and walk around to read others’ work.

Final reflection: “What one change will you try at home?”

Didactic tips:

  • Variation: For younger students, simplify the diary (just “food wasted” + “reason”).
  • Differentiation: Older students can calculate estimated costs or CO₂ footprint of wasted food.
  • Progression: Repeat the diary later in the school year to see improvements.
  • Combination: Combine with lessons on nutrition or cooking with leftovers.
  • Extension: Organise a school campaign “One week without food waste” and share posters with parents/community.
GreenComp: food waste, sustainability, diary
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THEME:
Food & beverage
TIME: 2 x 90 minutes
AGE: 10-12 years, 13-15 years

SUBJECTS:

  • Nature sciences
  • Social studies
  • Mother tongue
  • Home economics

TOOLS / MATERIALS:

  • Pens/pencils
  • Flipchart or whiteboard
  • Poster paper, markers, glue, scissors, images from magazines/flyers
  • Optional: projector for showing food waste facts/infographic

METHODS:

RESOURCES: