Turning lunch into learning: How first graders became Food Waste Warriors
By
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Loretta Lyken
© Loretta Lyken
As a first-grade teacher and school garden leader in Phoenix, I’ve spent the past two years redefining how young learners connect with food, nature, and community. So when the opportunity arose to join the Food Waste Futures Fellowship with World Wildlife Fund, Mill, Incite, and Arizona State University’s Sustainability Teacher’s Academy, it felt like a natural extension of the work I was already doing. What I didn’t expect was how profoundly it would transform the culture of my classroom.
My journey into this work is rooted in a deep love for food, the earth, and the communities that grow from both. As someone connected to regenerative farming and urban agriculture, I’ve seen firsthand how soil, seeds, and sustainability can transform lives — and I carry that passion into my classroom every single day.
For me, teaching has never been confined to four walls. I believe that students deserve experiences that connect them to real-world challenges and understand that even their smallest choices — what they eat, what they save, what they share — carry power.
That’s what drew me to the Food Waste Futures Fellowship. It offered more than just tools and resources — it offered a platform; a way to take our food waste lessons further and bring my values to life with my students. I didn’t want them to just talk about sustainability — I wanted them to live it in ways that felt joyful, hands-on, and meaningful.
© Loretta Lyken
This year, our classroom turned into a mini sustainability hub. With the help of the WWF Food Waste Warriors Toolkit, we conducted mini food audits, practiced mindful eating, and explored what it means to be intuitive eaters and respectful consumers. Students learned that food doesn’t magically disappear once it’s tossed; it ends up in landfills, creating methane and harming the planet.
By introducing the Mill Food Recycler into our classroom — a system that makes for odorless food recycling — we were able to move from theory to action. The kids quickly saw that food waste isn’t just a problem; it’s an opportunity.
© Loretta Lyken
Our Mill became the heart of a daily routine we called Turning Lunch Into Learning. Every day after lunch, two students — our official Food Waste Warriors — collected uneaten food and scraps in clearly labeled bins. Others served as Mill Monitors, Compost Champions, Snack Shelf Organizers, and Classroom Educators.
We turned Food Grounds into soil enhancers for our school garden. Students weighed the composted material weekly and tracked our impact on a classroom chart. They began to see themselves as real contributors to environmental change. They also began reminding each other not to waste—because they had ownership.
My lesson plan was born from my belief that real learning sticks when it’s rooted in place — when students see that their actions, right here and now, have an impact. I wanted to design something that felt relevant to their daily lives, not abstract. Food waste isn’t just a global issue; it’s something they witness at lunch every day. And our classroom — surrounded by a school garden, with worms wriggling through our compost bin – became the perfect place to explore it.
© Loretta Lyken
What truly brought this lesson to life was the classroom culture we’d already built around community, curiosity, and care. By giving our students real jobs tied to food waste – and space to reflect on the “why” – they stepped up with genuine enthusiasm.
Everything changed when we introduced the Mill. Suddenly, food scraps weren’t gross; they were fascinating. The students were amazed by how the Mill transformed mushy leftovers into clean, dry, earthy-smelling Food Grounds. They could touch it, smell it, and see the transformation happening right in front of them. It became a sensory experience, and a scientific one, too.
Students light up when they see the connection: from lunch tray to Mill, to worm bin, to garden. It’s a full-circle moment — one that finally feels fun, purposeful, and empowering.
The most moving part? Students began bringing ideas from class into their homes. This fellowship didn’t just teach us about food waste. It taught us about agency, empathy, and the power of small actions to add up to big change, transforming the way students see themselves as changemakers.
About the Author
Loretta Lyken is a first-grade teacher, flower farmer, and the founder of the Sonoran Seeds Collective — a school garden program rooted in food education, sustainability, and hands-on learning. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, she blends regenerative agriculture with classroom teaching to empower children as environmental stewards and community advocates. Through partnerships, grants, and creativity, Loretta helps young learners discover that even the smallest seeds — of food or ideas — can grow into something transformative.
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The Food Waste Futures Fellowship is a dynamic collaboration between Food Waste Warriors, Arizona State University’s Sustainability Teachers Academy, and Mill, designed to empower educators in shaping the future of food systems education. This fellowship invites passionate educators to create innovative, accessible, and actionable curriculum centered on reducing food waste and promoting sustainable food systems. Mill’s Food Recycling Guide provides lesson plans for educators about the food cycle and highlights the ways in which food waste is a valuable resource.