Take a look in the trash cans in a school lunchroom. You’ll probably see unopened food containers and uneaten whole fruits and vegetables inside. A container of milk here, a bag of cookies there, and a box of raisins—it all adds up to pounds upon pounds of food being thrown away in schools each week. This waste isn’t right, and students and school administrators across the country agree. They’re setting up “share tables” for students to leave unwanted food items for others to take and enjoy. Friends have shared food since the days of one-room schoolhouses—but now, everyone in a school can share.

7 In June 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a memo stating that share tables were an effective way to reduce food waste in our schools. The USDA suggests that schools set up a space for students to place whole and unopened foods and drinks. That way, other students who are still hungry can have extra food to eat now or later in the day. Items that aren’t claimed by the end of the day can be donated by schools to nonprofit organizations. This way, food is going where it belongs: into mouths and not landfills. As the caretakers of young people during the day, schools are required to serve a hot, healthy meal to students, complete with fruits and vegetables. While cafeteria managers try to plan meals that students actually want to eat, not everyone chooses to eat all that is on the plate. Share tables allow students to voluntarily drop off what they don’t eat. Since most students are busy talking to friends and dealing with issues of their own, they aren’t watching the share table. Other students are free to take what they want from the table without being noticed or judged. We’ve all had days when we’ve wanted to eat a little extra at lunch, and share tables allow everyone the opportunity to fill up.

9 At schools that have implemented share tables, students share mostly fruit and milk, but they also often leave chips, nuts, crackers, and candy for others to pick up. Most share tables have restrictions. For instance, shareable food must be unpeeled, uncut, and wrapped. In some schools, though, these rules go further. Because of these strict rules, good food is still going into the trash. One worry is that cold food is being left out too long. A school in Wallingford, Connecticut, uses a donated refrigerator to store cold items. Schools may have more success at reducing waste if students are required to use share tables, rather than having an option to throw away food. Insisting on participation forces all students to think about the amount of waste they create and reduce it. Administrators and students are finding innovative ways to let students share safely, because everyone knows it’s best to avoid waste.

How does the author support the central argument of Passage 2?
A. by giving alternatives to having share tables in schools
B. by explaining how share tables help students and schools
C. by describing students who place food on share tables
D. by telling what happens to the unclaimed food on share tables