Take Action at Home: Stop Food Waste Action Project
Be a Food Rescuer and take collective action to stop food waste!
Forty percent of the food that is grown in the U.S. ends up being wasted and 20 percent of food that families purchase to eat never actually gets eaten. Food wasted in a landfill also contributes to climate change and wastes of all the energy, water, and resources that went into producing that food. In the Stop Food Waste Action Project, students can explore the connections between wasted food and climate change, and learn how they can adopt best practices and tips to reduce wasted food at home.
The Collective Action Steps: Stop Food Waste Action Project offers a roadmap to suggested activities and actions for individuals, families or classrooms to complete. Don't forget to share your actions to build on our collective storytelling!
Download the Collective Action Steps: Stop Food Waste Action Project
Use the links below to skip to the Stop Food Waste Action Step Activities & Resources:
- Step 1: Stay Connected
- Step 2: Engage in 4Rs Stop Food Waste Activities
- Step 3: Take Stop Food Waste Action!
- Step 4: Share Your Actions
- Step 5: Celebrate Success!
Step 1: Stay Connected
Join the StopWaste Schools E-News Network to receive up-to-date resources and news!
Sign up for StopWaste at School E-News
Students can also Meet the League of 4Rs Action Heroes to learn about everyday students doing extraordinary things to reduce waste.
Step 2: Engage in 4Rs Stop Food Waste Activities
Complete one activity or complete them all. You decide how your students engage with our online materials.
StopWaste's Stop Food Waste Activities:
Food Waste Reduction with Super Reducer
In this mini-activity page, 4Rs Action Hero Super Reducer shares tips on how to reduce wasted food.
Recommended Grade Levels: TK-4th grade
KidScoop News: Earth Tips
KidScoop News, in partnership with the Altamont Education Advisory Board, created these earth tip activity pages that showcase many of StopWaste’s student and teacher action heroes.
Earth Tips related to the Stop Food Waste Action Project are titled “The Food Share Table”, “Oakland Schools Share with Love”, “Students Pledge to Help the Earth”, “Food Sharing: It’s Like Thanksgiving All Year”, “Reducing Food Waste: Are YOU a Food Rescue Hero?”, and “Schools Share Food with Hungry Neighbors”
Recommended Grade Levels: TK-4th grade
Videos: Food Storage Tips & Food Leftover Ideas
While wasted food is a global issue that will require action along all the steps in our food system, there are many individual actions we can all take at home to reduce the amount of food we throw away. As part of StopWaste’s Stop Food Waste Campaign, these food-saving tips and videos provide best practices and inspiration to families across Alameda County.
Recommended Grade Levels: TK-High School
Is Dinner Hiding in Your Fridge?
What's the Best Way to Store Fresh Herbs?
Love Your Leftovers with Zesty Fried Rice
Find more food storage and leftovers tip videos at www.StopFoodWaste.org.
Do you have a food-saving tip or story that you’d like to share with us? Email Schools@StopWaste.org.
Amazing Garbologist Adventure Journal: Stop Food Waste Edition
How do you go from Garbologist – or someone who studies garbage – to a Food Rescue Action Hero? It’s easy! In this journal, students will join four Garbologists who ask questions about how garbage affects people living in Alameda County and around the world, and explore action steps they can take to reduce the amount of wasted food.
This journal activity is available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.
Recommended Grade Levels: 4th-High School
Download the Amazing Garbologist Journal: Stop Food Waste Edition
We are the (Re)Generation Toolkit
The We are the (Re)Generation Toolkit is an intergenerational, action-based storytelling platform for students, families, and school communities to collectively create and re-envision a new sustainable and resilient earth story with caring at the core. The toolkit has both 4Rs and Action activities. The recommended activities from Journal 2 below could be used to make connections between the 4Rs.
Recommended Grade Levels: All
Journal 1 - Action 2: Reduce – Make an “Eat Me First” sign to set aside need-to-be-eaten-soon food in the fridge
Download the We are the (Re)Generation Journal 1
Journal 2 - Action 9: Recover – Make a creative new dish with leftovers in your fridge
Journal 2 - Action 12: Research – Find out more about other heroes that are taking action to care for the earth
Additional Stop Food Waste Activities & Resources
Please note that these external resources are being shared for educational purposes only, and do not reflect endorsement.
Mr. Eco Sings about Wasted Food
Get ready to fall in love with your Ugly Food with Mr. Eco, environmental rap superhero, and his music videos about reducing food waste and changing the world!
Recommended Grade Levels: All
Watch the Ugly Food Official Music Video
Watch the Dates on Food Official Music Video
Watch the Food Waste at Home Lyric Video
Wasted Food Research
Students can research the impacts of wasted food on the environment, just how much food is being wasted locally and globally, and how organizations across the world are working to address wasted food.
Recommended Grade Levels: 5th-High School
CalRecycle: Food Waste Prevention
Natural Resources Defense Council: Food
Videos:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Food Wastage Footprint
#HatchKids: Kids Go Undercover to Discover Food Waste in their Homes
Step 3: Take Stop Food Waste Action!
Facilitate your students to take action at home, at school, or in their community to reduce food waste. These activities spotlight ways students can assess food waste at home and take on food saving behaviors or share tips they are already doing!
Leftovers Reimagined Bingo
Did you know eating your leftovers is one of the easiest ways to reduce food waste and reduce climate change? When wasted food is tossed in the trash bin, it's sent to the landfill and emits methane, a greenhouse gas. To help stop food waste, we are calling all Food Rescuers to get creative about recooking leftovers at home. Try out just one or many of the actions of this Leftovers Reimagined Bingo card.
Recommended Grade Levels: All
Download the Bingo Card
Watch the Leftovers Reimagined Video
Family Home Fridge Audit: Amazing Garbologist Adventure Journal
Embedded in this curriculum activity book is a home family fridge audit investigation that asks students to look in their refrigerator, pantry, or countertops and gather data about what is potentially being thrown away. This data can be used to help families strategize on ways they can reduce food waste at home!
The fridge audit activity can be found on page 10 of the journal.
Recommended Grade Level: 4th-High School
Family Home Fridge Audit: Fridge Reality Check
This quick fridge audit investigation offers a step-by-step guide to show students and families just how much food is going uneaten in their fridge every week. Using the data families find, they can take on tips and best practices for reducing food waste and then conduct another assessment to see if they’ve been able to save more food.
Recommended Grade Level: 4th-High School
Food Rescuer Family Action Plan
Students and families can create a family action plan to reduce food waste by taking on food saving tips. Once a plan is in place, families can make an open commitment together to put that plan into action.
Recommended Grade Level: All
Stop Food Waste Leftovers Challenge
What better way to reuse than to create a new meal or dish out of leftover food! The Leftovers Challenge encourages students to learn new and creative ways to prepare meals using leftovers or food that is about to spoil.
Recommended Grade Level: 4th-High School
Step 4: Share Your Actions
Share with us how you took action to create a healthier planet. StopWaste will compile all community actions to showcase our collective impact!
Student Mission Report Back Letters: Stop Food Waste Actions
Students can report what they learned and how they took action at school, at home, and in their community to prevent and reduce food waste. The template for this letter writing activity invites students to report back to the 4Rs Action League.
Teacher or Family Report Back
Share with us how you, your family, or your class took action. Teachers, parents, or families can fill out this form to let StopWaste know what actions you took and who you reached.
Get Creative! Students or classes can create an art piece, presentation, video, song, etc. to share your actions! However you want to share your actions, we want to know! Email us your actions at Schools@Stopwaste.org.
Step 5: Celebrate Success
Now that you’ve taken action, join the League of 4Rs Action Heroes and celebrate!
Create Your Own Action Hero Identity
The 4Rs Action League is a group of everyday students doing extraordinary things to reduce waste and create a healthier planet. Students can celebrate their own actions by creating their own Action Hero Identity – complete with super hero name, illustration and origin story!
We are the (Re)Generation Digital Stories
View this slideshow to see how teachers and students took action at home during shelter in place. View their 4Rs stories and get inspired to share your own!
Email us at Schools@Stopwaste.org to have your story added to this digital collective action story telling platform.