Food Waste Curriculum
This page contains Food Waste Educational Units developed for The Nature of Teaching program. Each unit contains one or more lesson plans that meet Common Core English/Language Arts, Math, and Next Generation Science Standards. Many lessons are currently in Indiana Academic Standards. Most lessons are K-5, but some include middle school and high school standards, and many can be scaled up.
This unit contains two lessons which cover how land and water resources are used to produce food.
- Sneak Peek Video
- Food Waste & Natural Resources Lesson Plans (free pdf download)
- Who Made Your Breakfast? Video
- Assessments:
Lesson 1: Producers, Consumers, & Natural Resources (pdf)
Lesson 2: Food Waste from Farm to Fork (pdf)
This unit contains three lesson plans that will teach students how food waste affects water, climate change, and wildlife.
- Sneak Peek Video
- Food Waste & Environment Lesson (free pdf download)
- Mini Landfill Video
- Assessments:
Lesson 1 Food Waste & Water (pdf)
Lesson 2 Food Waste & Climate Change (pdf)
Lesson 3 Food Waste & Wildlife (pdf)
This unit contains three lesson plans that will teach students how to reduce food waste by learning more about proper food storage, best-by dates, and ugly foods.
- Sneak Peek Video
- What a Waste of Food! (free pdf download with PowerPoint)
- Assessments:
Lesson 1 The Apple Falls Far From the Tree (pdf)
Lesson 2 Pick on ME (pdf)
Lesson 3: Waste Not, Want Not (pdf)
This lesson teaches students how reduce food waste at home and school through fun hands-on activities and discussion.
- Sneak Peek Video
- Food Waste Solutions (free pdf download)
- Oh the Things You Can Eat Video
- Classroom Compost Bin Video
- Assessments:
Food Waste Solutions for Home (pdf)
Food Waste Solutions for School (pdf)
This lesson teaches students how food transportation and food miles affect the environment. Students will learn where different foods typically come from and calculate food miles for different modes of transportation.
- Transporting Food Waste (free pdf download)
- Assessment (pdf)
The Education Store, Purdue Extension's resource center, has more Nature of Teaching curriculum with activities and games. Use the search bar and add keywords for wildlife and natural resource educational publications and videos.
Related Links
- Allrecipes.com: Everyday Leftovers Recipes
- Teaching Kids to Waste Less Food: An Educators Guide to Food Waste Ideas
- Why Waste Food When it can be Rescued?
- Cafeteria Culture
- Clean Your Plate! Lesson Plan for Grades 6-12
- Epa Food Recovery Challenge
- EPA Food: Too Good to Waste Implementation Guide and Tool Kit
- Foodbus.org
- Food Wise Australia
- Further With Food U.S. National Portal for Food Waste
- Infographic: Food Waste Reduction Strategies for Home
- Institute for Humane Education: 17 Resources for Teaching About Food Waste
- Infographic: Food Waste Reduction Strategies for School
- K-12 Schools Reducing, Recovering, and Recycling Food Waste Webinar
- Lovefoodhatewaste.com
- National Wildlife Federation: Sustainable Food Pathway
- Think. Eat. Save. International Think Tank for Food Waste
- Tufts: “Reducing Food Waste: Recommendations to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee"
- WasteFreeLunches.org
- What's cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl
- International Literary Association: "Finding Solutions to Food Waste: Persuasion in a Digital World" Lesson Plan
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