Action Plan to Address Lunch Waste Issues Among American Elementary Students

Part II: Literature Review Student’s Name Institution Course # and Name Professor’s Name Submission Date Literature Review Lunch Waste Prevalence and Its Impact The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides students with balanced meals at a reduced cost. However, lunch waste is a prevalent issue that affects Furley Elementary School in Baltimore, leading to rising greenhouse gas emissions. Cohen et al. (2021) established that NSLP strengthened the lunch standards, but the low intake of fruits and vegetables leads to nutrient deficiency. Burg et al. (2021) investigated the impact of seating duration among elementary students in the United States. The study incorporated a randomized crossover trial assessment using 38 participants. The finding indicated that shorter lunch periods increased plate waste among elementary students. The increase in lunch waste cases at Furley Elementary School proves the need to implement strategies tailored to decrease food waste. Action plans to improve food consumption will combat food waste, obesity, and malnutrition among elementary students at Furley Elementary School in Baltimore. Effective intervention strategies will encourage the uptake of essential minerals, such as vitamins A and C, which enhance growth and development in young children (Patel et al., 2021). Kohli et al. (2024) established that reducing the per capita food loss promotes food security while ensuring that humans do not transgress planetary boundaries. Lunch waste at Furley Elementary School contributes to environmental issues because it wastes vital resources like water and soil invested in food production. Wasting food reduces biodiversity and increases the carbon footprint on the planet. Additionally, Martins et al. (2021) established that high food disposal contributed to greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of pollution. The high plate waste increases the rates of contamination. Thus, it leads to social disparities, such as food security issues in other countries. The food shortages lead to inequalities among the nations (Smyth et al., 2019). Increased avoidable waste leads to social inequalities and increases poverty levels in different regions since it increases food security. (Izumi et al., 2023). Petchoo et al., 2022 indicated that resource scarcity leads to increased poverty in poor developing countries. Thus, students must be taught strategies to conserve the environment by reducing their carbon footprint. (Li et al., 2020) indicated that the costs incurred during production are misused when food is lost through disposal behaviors. Factors Contributing to Lunch Waste Among Elementary Students Inadequate supervision increases wasting among younger children in schools (Hodder et al., 2020). Students at Furley Elementary School have a high tendency for plate wastage compared to other students at other levels (Adjapong et al., 2024). This may be because children often exhibit heightened sensory sensitivities, which result in more waste in terms of shunning particular textures or tastes. Additionally, the inability on the part of the pupils to perform certain tasks like peeling fruits, i.e., bananas and oranges, or opening containers, including bags, yogurt tins, or Tupperware, could also lead them to throw away food. Inappropriate portions lead to poor consumption among students and decreased appetite, especially for vegetables (Hodder et al., 2020). Students at Furley Elementary School demonstrate poor eating habits because of the need to socialize and play with others, which results in distraction (Martins et al., 2020). They also struggle with food consumption because of different tastes, especially fruits and vegetables, influenced by genetics, family background, and environmental factors (Brink et al....