ArticlePublic health nutrition2020
An ethnographic study exploring factors that minimize lunch waste in Tokyo elementary schools.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Systems-Based Dialogue With Secondary School Students to Explore School Food Environments That Promote Healthy People and Planet.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2026Article
- Are weight control and food waste a trade-off?: A clustering of pre-meal portion planning and plate-clearing behaviors among Japanese adult consumers.European journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Article
- Sustainability Recommendations and Practices in School Feeding: A Systematic Review.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
objectiveTo explore factors that minimize lunch waste in Tokyo elementary schools and to consider how such factors can be modified and applied in US schools.
designFocused ethnographic study using interviews, observation, participant observation and document review. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
settingTokyo, Japan.
participantsFive school dietitians participated in the study. Data collection methods included in-depth interviews, observation of nutrition education lessons, participant observation of school lunchtime and review of relevant school documents (e.g. lunch menus, food waste records).
resultsFive themes emerged from the analysis: (i) reinforcement of social norms to eat without waste; (ii) menu planning to increase exposure to unfamiliar and/or disliked foods; (iii) integration of food and nutrition education into the school curriculum; (iv) teacher lunchtime practices related to portion sizes, distributing leftover food and time management; and (v) engagement of students in reducing school lunch waste. Practical and tangible applications to US schools include measuring and reporting lunch waste to influence social norms, teaching students about the importance of reducing food waste, offering flexible school lunch portion sizes and providing students with meaningful opportunities to contribute to solving the problem of school lunch waste.
conclusionsJapan offers a model for minimizing school lunch waste through a holistic approach that includes factors that operate at and interact across multiple levels of society. Modifying and applying such an approach in US schools is worth considering given the urgent need to address food waste in order to support healthy diets and sustainable food systems.
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