Students at one 性视界传媒 school became so passionate about the subject of food waste, they made a meal out of it.

A dinner of soup and apple crisp was served to around 70 people in Grade 5 teacher Amanda Cheung鈥檚 classroom on Feb. 20, at the Cloverdale campus of .

The meal was a key moment in a class project that began several months ago.

鈥淚t started with understanding what food waste was, and it turned into something bigger for us,鈥� Cheung said. 鈥淭he students learned that we, as a society, waste a lot of food. So we decided to transform food waste into a meal, to also educate people in the community.鈥�

Cheung鈥檚 18 students chopped carrots, celery and chicken to make soup, for a dinner that had three seatings.

鈥淏y the end of the night we actually had to turn people away, it got so full,鈥� Cheung said.

鈥淚t was all just one way for the students to really hit home that food waste is not just garbage, that you can cut rubbery stuff off and still use it and make a good meal,鈥� she added. 鈥淭hey really want to send the message that hey, we can make this and yes, you鈥檙e eating food waste right now.鈥�

To make the meal, the class partnered with Save-On-Foods, which in 2019 by the year 2025 鈥� a goal announced six months previous. The grocery chain has since revised its goal to become a zero-food waste operation within three years, in partnership with FoodMesh, Loop Resource and Food Banks BC.

鈥淥ur school has been really passionate about recycling and this year, the students wanted to do something a little different,鈥� Cheung said. 鈥淚 learned more about food waste and told the students about it, and that鈥檚 what started this. They got the ball rolling, and they started policing each other. Like, 鈥楬ey, don鈥檛 throw away that apple, you only took one bite of it.鈥� Or you know, 鈥楾hat bruised banana, you shouldn鈥檛 throw it away, it can be made into banana bread, right. It鈥檚 still good.鈥欌��

Now, the students have a good understanding of what food waste is.

鈥溾�婣t first I thought that food waste was not a problem,鈥� said student Katelynn. 鈥淏ut now I know that food waste causes pollution when it is thrown in the landfill and it is a problem because we have so many hungry people that we should give the food to instead of throwing it away.鈥�

Added student Elijah: 鈥淣ow I know that it鈥檚 perfectly good food that people don鈥檛 want to eat because they bought too much. One fact that surprised me is that we waste 25 per cent of the food we buy.鈥�

Cheung said one student told her that changes have been made when the family goes grocery shopping.

鈥淚 had a student tell me that she now says to her mom, 鈥楲et鈥檚 just go to the back of the grocery store and get the discounted food that can still be used, stuff that鈥檚 still good.鈥欌��

tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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