Food Waste Warriors teaching resources

Lessons that last a lifetime—and change the world

WWF’s Food Waste Warriors program provides K–12 schools with free online toolkits to help them develop safe, fun, creative, and research-backed strategies to reduce and prevent food waste in cafeterias and classrooms—all while bringing science, math, and critical thinking skills to life, right at the lunch table.

Learn more about the Food Waste Warriors program Ver en español

Getting started

All of WWF's Food Waste Warriors programs and resources are:

Designed for K–12 schools nationwide
Offered free of charge
Adaptable to your school environment
Aligned to meet state education standards for teachers and students
Rooted in community, research, and real-world impact
Created to empower student leadership
Packed with experiential learning opportunities

What you get inside the toolkit

Our toolkits can be taught as a 1-2 week unit. Each kit includes:

Teaching guides

Classroom lesson plan on food waste reduction for grades 3–5

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Food audit

Activity guide for grades 3–5 to track and reduce food waste

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Discussion topics

World Wildlife Fund lesson plan titled "Top Leftover Chef" that teaches students to reduce food waste

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Student activities

Educational lesson plan guide for regrowing vegetables from kitchen scraps

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Lessons & activities by grade level

Lessons & activities

A Little Food Waste Leads to a Lot

Toolkit for grades K-2

Grade
PreK-2

Subjects
Science & STEM

Math

Theme
Sustainability & human impact
Lessons & activities

Food Waste Hurts Our World

Toolkits for grades 3-5

Grade
3-5

Subjects
Science & STEM

Math

Theme
Sustainability & human impact
Lessons & activities

How Much Food Is Wasted Each Year?

Toolkit for grades 6-8

Grade
6-8

Subjects
Science & STEM

Math

Theme
Sustainability & human impact
Lessons & activities

Equipping Food Waste Activists

Toolkit for grades 9-12

Grade
9-12

Subjects
Science & STEM

Math

Theme
Sustainability & human impact

Melissa Miskovsky wears a read shirt and stands in front of a smart board in a yellow classroom using Kahoot quizzes on food waste to start a lesson on composting and food waste.

Keep up with Food Waste Warriors

Filled with tips, updates, and news, our quarterly newsletter is essential reading for educators, administrators, and parents.

Engage your class

Teachers, your classroom food waste audit can be part of WWF’s national research by entering food audit results into the Food Waste Warriors Dashboard. Download the audit guides now!

How to conduct a food waste audit

A guide created for educators, parents, partners, and anyone who would like to reduce food waste in K-12 schools.

Download the guide

Slideshows: understanding food waste

Use these slideshow lessons to introduce your students to the importance of reducing food waste. Teacher notes are built right in! Designed for K-5 and 6-12.