Mateřská škola, Znojmo, nám. Republiky 15, příspěvková organizace

Every bite counts

Objective

To show children how food waste can be prevented in a meaningful way, involve them in processing leftovers, and raise awareness of kitchen work and the value of every bite.

Activity description:

1. Week-long program in a selected class

One class will prepare a special themed week focused on processing food leftovers and conscious food handling. The program will be carried out in close cooperation with the class teacher and the school kitchen.

• Re-use food from home:
• Children will bring unused stale bread (e.g., bread, rolls) from home, which they will then toast together in a toaster to make tasty and crispy croutons or toast.
• Processing whole ingredients:
• Using carrots as an example, children will learn how to use the whole ingredient:
  • peels: wash and bake as vegetable chips,
  • flesh: prepare a simple carrot salad,
  • greens: ask the cook to add them to the broth or use them to garnish spreads.
• Monitoring snack leftovers:
• Every day, children will write down how much bread is left over after their snack. They will keep these records in a simple table. The aim is to motivate them to reduce food waste.

2. Involvement of the entire school in lunches

• Transparent bucket for leftovers:
• A transparent bucket will be placed in the school cafeteria for children to throw leftovers from their plates into. Every day, we will draw a line in the bucket to indicate the amount of leftovers—this will allow children to see how much food is being wasted.
• Conscious portioning:
• During the week, children will serve themselves lunch so that they are more aware of how much food they actually eat. We will encourage them to take only as much as they can eat.
• Kitchen visits:
• Individual classes will take turns visiting the school kitchen to get an idea of how much work the cooks do to prepare meals.

Communication with parents

The entire project will be documented with photos. The photos and short reports will be compiled into a summary that will be shared with parents, for example via class emails or the school website.

Summary

The week-long project "Every bite counts" combines environmental education, practical skills, and empathy for the work of others in a playful way. Children will learn that wasting food is not a given and that even "waste" can be turned into something tasty and valuable.