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Food waste represents a complex environmental and ethical challenge, and Early Childhood Education and Care Institutions (ECECIs) can play a key role in mitigating it due to the large number of meals they serve daily and the central role of everyday food service routines in food waste generation and prevention. This study quantifies food waste in four Norwegian ECECIs and evaluates its climate impact, while also exploring practitioners' strategies for waste reduction. Using a waste compositional analysis approach over ca. 7000 meals among 180 children and 44 staff, average food waste amounted to 52.8 g per capita per day, with plate waste representing the largest share. There was substantial variation in food waste among ECECIs, particularly in edible plate waste. Climate impact analysis revealed annual emissions ranging from 22 to 46 kg CO₂ eq per capita, with beef, despite its low waste volume, being a major contributor due to its high emission intensity. Qualitative interviews with nine practitioners identified five main strategies for waste reduction: smart reuse of leftovers, planning and evaluation, pedagogical involvement of children, use of other levels of the food web (e.g., composting, feeding farm animals), and attitude shaping rooted in traditional and sustainability values. These findings highlight the environmental relevance of food waste in ECECIs and the importance of combining organizational practices with everyday food-related routines to effectively reduce food waste.
Melis et al. (Wed,) studied this question.