Plate Waste Introduction & Practice

Quarter Waste (Observational) Method1. Code amount remaining of each food item.

• Observe food left on tray in cafeteria

2. MUST have “average” initial serving size

3. Wastea) code amount left on tray b) multiple by average weight

Highly reliable (90% agreement) and comparable to weighted wasteHanks, Wansink & Just (2014). Reliability and accuracy of real-time visualization techniques for measuring school

cafeteria tray waste. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 114(3), 470-474.

Quarter Observational MethodCoding System

0 for none wasted

1 for ¼ wasted

2 for ½ wasted

3 for ¾ wasted

4 for all wasted

Identifying Clues• Food Clues: core, crumbs, grease, peels, color of syrup• Serving Clues: serving cup or bowl, spoon, straw,

wrapper (!), or a particular or utensil.

• Open the milk carton to get a better estimate

If you cannot tell whether or not an item was on the tray, leave the corresponding space blank

Let’s practice!

Servings taken:• Bowl of tomato soup• Cheese sandwich• Carton of juice• Carton of milk

Tray Example 1

Coding System0 for none wasted

1 for ¼ wasted

2 for ½ wasted

3 for ¾ wasted

4 for all wasted

Servings taken:• Bowl of tomato soup• Cheese sandwich• Carton of juice• Carton of milk

Servings wasted:• ¼ serving of soup: 1• ¼ serving of sandwich: 1• No juice wasted: 0• ¼ milk wasted: 1

Servings taken:• Bowl of tomato soup• Cheese sandwich• Carton of juice• Carton of flavored milk• Pack of fun fruits

Tray Example 2

Coding System0 for none wasted

1 for ¼ wasted

2 for ½ wasted

3 for ¾ wasted

4 for all wasted

Servings taken:• Bowl of tomato soup• Cheese sandwich• Carton of juice• Carton of flavored milk• Pack of fun fruits

Servings wasted:• No tomato soup wasted: 0• No cheese sandwich wasted: 0• All juice wasted: 4• No milk wasted: 0• ¼ serving fun fruits wasted: 1

Things to note:• When none of an item is wasted (all is consumed) you must

use visual clues on the tray to determine what the student took, if anything

• When estimating waste, think of the amount wasted relative to the full serving size and round up or down, depending on your judgment

Preparation Collection Summary

Three Phases of Tray Waste Collection

Populating the Excel Spreadsheet

• Complete before arrival• Check and update upon arrival (always needs

updated)• Order matters (and call in order)

• Entrées • Entrée side (like a breadstick)• Fruits• Vegetable• Milk• Other beverages• A la carte

• COPY AND PASTE updated list to other lunch periods• Tabs for lunch periods

• Lock the first columnNote: Data collection can be recorded on paper, with pencils. Updating collection sheets on arrival will take a bit more time

Weights and Measures

• One team record the initial serving sizes• Vegetables and cupped fruit: typically ½ cup• Whole fruit: weight• Entrée: typically weight (could be volume)• Packaged foods: on wrapper/container

• Summarizing• Weights are more important in RESEARCH• Evaluation of Fruits and Vegetable:

• Selection• Percent of student who ate at least ¼ cup

The Excel Spreadsheet

Pre-Collection Walk Through• As a team, walk through serving area and collectively

note:• Food clues: crumbs, cores, shine.• Serving clues: plate, wrappers, utensils, condiment packet.• Plated meals: typically TWO meals.

• Discuss “rules of thumb”• X number of carrots equals a serving

• Take photos of meals/salad bars/fruits/vegetables.

Set Up and Support are Key• Place trash cans strategically• Behind the collection table• ONE to the side, close to table, for packers

• LONG tables• Call ahead to FSD

• Number of stations: one or two

• Enlist support of custodian

Salad & Salad Bars

Salad – entréePrepackage as bundled mealMade from bar• Code as ONE item

Side SaladAssume “average” serving

Veggie side off salad barAssume “average” serving

SAMPLE

• NUMBER of Trays• Cornell BEN Center: at least 200 trays or 20% of trays• OHIO: As many as possible. • Consider the prevalence of target item(s):

• Collection DAYS• Match menu items as best as possible• 3 days of collection for each time period (pre and post) is

ideal.

“Waste”

• Weights most common• Frequencies are an option (Us; Gase et al 2014).

• We operationalize “waste” as a 3’s and 4’s• Reflects the health behavior of waste

• Others• Weights• 4’s only• Aggregates

Summary by Collection Session

Summary of Period

Review

• The plate waste protocol• Organizing a Tray Waste Study Team (3:19)• Visual Estimation Method (10:29)• Watch additional tray waste videos at: http://

smarterlunchrooms.org/more-videos

Thank You for Participating inOHIO Smarter Lunchrooms

Susan PattonOhio Department of Educationsusan.patton@education.ohio.gov

Marietta Orlowski

Wright State University

marietta.orlowski@wright.edu