Question

Better Lunch Schedules Reduce Plate Waste


1
How can we make our school less wasteful? One way is to cut down on food waste. In my opinion, the best way to get our students to waste less food is by changing our lunch schedules dramatically.


2
Most importantly, we should have lunch after recess. When we play before lunch, we burn off calories and feel hungrier. Therefore, we will eat more at lunchtime. The National Food Service Management Institute at the University of Mississippi shows that when lunch followed recess, plate waste was sliced from 40 percent to 27 percent.


3
In addition, we should have a longer lunch period. Ours is only twenty minutes. This doesn't give us enough time to finish our lunches. According to one school cook in Ohio, the lunch period should be lengthened to thirty minutes. She believes students won't throw away so much food if they have more time to talk with their friends and eat. According to a 2003 study by the National Food Service Management Institute, schools with thirty-minute lunch periods have less food waste than schools with twenty-minute lunch periods do. The study looked at 1,119 students in grades 3 to 5 who had a twenty-minute lunch and 758 students who had a 30-minute lunch.




4
Also, lunch lines are too long and too slow. When students have to wait, they have even less time to eat. In some schools, students only have 10 to 15 minutes to gobble their food! In order to be on time to class, they end up throwing out food because there's no time to eat it. A longer lunch period, along with quicker food service, is the answer.


5
Finally, we should eat lunch at a more reasonable time. One reason for food waste is that some students are forced to eat lunch not long after they arrive at school. If lunch is served at 10:45 a.m., students aren't hungry enough to eat the whole meal. Another reason for food waste is that some students have lunch late in the school day. They are forced to fill up on snacks they buy from vending machines or bring from home. In either case, food waste is the result.


6
I support making changes to the lunch schedule next year. Playtime before lunchtime, thirty-minute lunch periods, and lunch service at more appropriate times will result in less food waste in school.

Cafeteria Trays Encourage Food Waste


1
Imagine you're having lunch with your classmates in the school cafeteria. After finishing, Sally takes her tray to the trash and throws out what's left on it, including most of her tossed green salad. Then Sam chucks out half a banana. Every day, hundreds of Sallys and Sams dump perfectly good food into the garbage. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency did a study of school waste in April 2010. The study found that students in six elementary, middle, and high schools discarded about 24 percent of what they didn't eat. Food waste in the schools costs money and energy and is bad for the environment. It's time to stop the problem of food waste in schools.


2
I believe the best solution for the reduction of food waste is to get rid of cafeteria lunch trays because trayless lunches help cut waste. Most of us who carry a tray cram on more food than we can eat. If students don't carry plastic, paper, or foam trays, they are less likely to pile on too much food. Therefore, less unwanted food ends up in the garbage.


3
In 2008, Aramark Higher Education Food Services conducted a survey of twenty-five colleges and universities. This survey showed that each student wasted 25 to 30 percent less food when not using a tray. Furthermore, third-grade students in New Jersey's Holland Township School experimented with trayless Fridays beginning on December 13, 2013. The students weighed the trash to keep track of how much was thrown away. Without lunch trays, the amount of lunchroom trash dropped by about one third.




4
For this reason, I support having our school cafeteria stop using trays. This will help reduce food waste in our school. Of course, some students will object because it's easier and more convenient to use a tray. We're all used to having a tray to carry our plates, glasses, and silverware. However, the evidence is clear. Schools without trays do report less food waste.


5
Will we wipe out food waste completely if we have a trayless cafeteria? No. Students will still throw away food they don't eat whether or not they use trays. But we have to start somewhere. Let's waste less food by making our school tray free!

Answer 1

I can help — do you want feedback, a grade, a line‑by‑line edit, or a rewritten/combined essay? Below is a quick comparative evaluation plus concrete, short revision examples so you can see improvements.

Quick comparison (strengths and main weaknesses)
- Better Lunch Schedules Reduce Plate Waste
- Strengths: Clear thesis and concrete proposals (recess before lunch, 30‑minute lunch, better timing); uses studies and numbers to support claims.
- Weaknesses: Intro is weak (no strong hook); evidence could be cited more precisely and integrated (explain what the numbers mean for the school); limited counterargument handling; some repetition and small phrasing issues.
- Grade (rough): B

- Cafeteria Trays Encourage Food Waste
- Strengths: Strong, vivid opening anecdote that engages reader; clear single solution (trayless lunches); uses specific studies and local example.
- Weaknesses: Needs more balance (address convenience/health/plates logistics), strengthen credibility of sources (dates, sample sizes), and offer an implementation plan or pilot suggestion.
- Grade (rough): B+

Concrete suggestions to improve either essay
- Strengthen the opening hook to grab attention.
- State the thesis clearly and early.
- Explain study findings in plain terms — translate percent reductions into likely outcomes for your school (e.g., “cut plate waste from 40% to 27% — that’s a 32% reduction”).
- Address counterarguments and practical concerns (costs, staffing, cleanliness, student preferences), then rebut them briefly.
- Add an implementation step (pilot program, data collection, timeline, who to contact).
- End with a stronger call to action: who should do what and when.

Two short model rewrites

1) Revised opening + thesis for Better Lunch Schedules:
"Many schools throw away large amounts of cafeteria food, wasting money and resources. We can cut that waste simply by changing when and how long students eat. Having recess before lunch, extending the lunch period to 30 minutes, and scheduling lunch at hunger‑appropriate times would help students eat more and toss less — studies show these changes substantially reduce plate waste."

2) Revised opening + thesis for Cafeteria Trays:
"Picture the lunchroom at 12:30: half a tray of salad, a half‑eaten banana, and a full carton of milk in the garbage. Small changes in cafeteria routine could stop that. Removing trays often reduces how much students take and later throw away — making our school trayless could cut food waste, save money, and teach better portion control."

If you want, I can:
- Do a full rewrite of either essay (short or longer version).
- Combine both approaches into one stronger piece presenting multiple solutions (scheduling + trayless + service speed).
- Give a line‑by‑line copyedit with grammar fixes and improved transitions.
Tell me which you prefer.