Food Waste Action Week

Food Waste is one of the biggest environmental challenges and issues that still hasn’t been solved. Personally, I believe that this is one of the common problems at schools. The Philippines Service Learning (PSL) club, recognizing the urgent need for action, took a step by organizing an event called the Food Waste Action Week, in collaboration with the Village School, Middle School, and Upper School. The initiative was met with overwhelming enthusiasm and participation from students, faculty, staff, and parents, making it a successful result.

Throughout the week, the school community came together to address this critical issue through a series of educational and interactive activities. The main aim was to raise awareness about food waste, inspire behavior change, and develop practical solutions for minimizing waste within the school and beyond. The event showed that even small collective actions can create meaningful changes in habits and mindsets.

One of the most engaging activities involved direct participation from faculty members. Teachers (mostly those who were on lunch duty), along with a few club members, were given hand-designed "Zero Food Waste" T-shirts, created by students, to wear during lunch hours. Their role was not only symbolic but also practical, going around the cafeteria, encouraging everyone to avoid unnecessary food waste and be mindful of their portions. This small yet impactful action helped create a visible and interactive presence, reinforcing the importance of the initiative while also having people think twice about their consumption choices. In addition to the visual reminders, the club also conducted a poll using stickers to gather data on the causes of food waste within the community. The poll aimed to identify people’s common opinions on habits, food preferences, and potential barriers to reducing waste. The results were insightful and provided valuable feedback on what factors contribute most to food waste at the school. Based on the data that they have collected, Alyssa and other members are currently working on a proposal to submit to the school cafeteria, which will include actionable suggestions to reduce food waste. These suggestions will be based on the feedback received from the student body, ensuring that the proposed solutions are both practical and relevant.

Moreover, members also partnered with three student representatives from the Village School who were similarly motivated to take action on food waste. Together, the groups shared ideas and discussed their goals, and built ideas and ways in which they can move forward and further. Village School also conducted the same event of the Food Action week, where students and faculty members were all encouraged to finish their plates.

A key part of this event was tracking progress. Both Middle and Upper School students participated in counting the number of empty plates generated each day. This data was crucial in measuring the tangible impact of the initiative and identifying areas where further efforts could be focused. The visual representation of the number of plates helped to show how much participation was shown from everyone, and this was also posted on social media.

Once the event was over, all members presented at an assembly to share and present the impact this event has brought and how collective actions could bring bigger results. To extend, the club had the opportunity to participate in an event called Pumassi, teaching and spreading awareness to young students further about zero food waste at the Korean National Assembly. By building a culture of sustainability and inspiring future generations to think critically about their consumption habits, everyone who participated took a step toward reducing their environmental footprint. Once again, the success of this event demonstrated that when a community comes together with a purpose, meaningful change is not only possible but also it is inevitable.