Question

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! Which introduction would BEST address the topic of cafeteria trays and food waste for a school audience reading an argumentative essay? Which sentence should be added to provide the BEST conclusion to the paragraph?

The cafeteria should also add new menu items to make students more excited about eating.

Students should remember to recycle their trays when lunch is over each day.

Getting rid of trays may seem like a small change, but it could make a big difference in reducing waste at our school.

Not every student likes the idea of eating without a tray, but that’s just how school lunches are sometimes.

Answer 1

Introduction: "Getting rid of trays may seem like a small change, but it could make a big difference in reducing waste at our school."

Conclusion to add: the same sentence — it reinforces the main claim and leaves the reader with a clear, positive call to action.

Reason: that sentence directly addresses trays and food waste, fits an argumentative tone for a school audience, and effectively summarizes the essay's main point.