Educators from Coffs Harbour Family Day Care learn how to avoid food waste

Educators from Coffs Harbour Family Day Care (FDC) have been participating in The Lunch Makers, a new food waste avoidance program which is designed to cut food waste and help families save money and help the environment.

 

Rolled out in Term One of the 2022 school year, 26 carers are involved in the program, reaching over 40 families in the Coffs Harbour area. Families have learnt useful tips and tricks to make the most of their food purchases, and children have become empowered to get more involved in making their own lunches. 

 

The program came about as a way to reduce the amount of uneaten food caused by children, with some estimates noting that each school aged child wastes on average 3kg of food a year. 

 

In Western Australia, for example, a recent study showed that primary school students throw away 3.5 million uneaten sandwiches, 3 million pieces of whole fruit and 1.3 million items of packaged foods a year.

 

Coffs Harbour Family Day Care joined MidWaste and the NSW Love Food Hate Waste team to run the program with spokesperson Bec Wales saying the program had been a great success.

 

“The Lunch Makers program has increased our educators’, children, and families’ understandings of the value of food and how important it is to reduce food wastage,” she told local paper News of the Area.

 

“We have explored the journeys that foods go on before they hit our plate and have expanded our understanding of healthy foods, through cooking and preparing healthy snacks, sharing recipes, and engaging in art and craft experiences.”

 

As a result of participating in the program the educators, children and families have been introduced to sustainable practices to cut down on food waste, discovering compost bins, feeding scraps to chickens and pigs, and taking their learning to the community, sharing it with others. 

 

Educators can sign up to the free online Food Smart program here, an initiative of the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Waste Less Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy.