Plate Waste Introduction & Practice

Quarter Waste (Observational) Method 1. Code amount remaining of each food item. Observe food left on tray in cafeteria 2. MUST have “average” initial serving size 3. Waste a)code amount left on tray b)multiple by average weight Highly reliable (90% agreement) and comparable to weighted waste Hanks, 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),

Quarter Observational Method Coding 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 System 0 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 System 0 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 column Note: 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 – entrée Prepackage as bundled meal Made from bar Code as ONE item Side Salad Assume “average” serving Veggie side off salad bar Assume “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) Organizing a Tray Waste Study Team Visual Estimation Method (10:29) Visual Estimation Method Watch additional tray waste videos at:

Thank You for Participating in OHIO Smarter Lunchrooms Susan Patton Ohio Department of Education Marietta Orlowski Wright State University