Deadline: November 16, 2014
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) is calling all food waste warriors in high schools and universities worldwide to fight food waste and compete for thousands of dollars of prizes by uncovering how much food gets wasted in their schools, organizing a team and taking action to reduce food waste!
Food waste is a massive global problem that has negative humanitarian, environmental and financial implications and schools are a huge part of this story. Students or their school can win up to USD5,000 that can be used to further implement their winning idea:
- Investigate how much food the school wastes every year and learn about the main causes of waste
- Take actions to eliminate or reduce food waste in the school
- Raise awarenes in the school and/or community on the issue of food waste and why it should be eliminated
Prizes
- 1st Prize – USD5,000
- 2nd Prize – USD3,000
- 3rd Prize – USD2,000
Eligibility
- Open to High school and University students Worldwide.
How
- Start by investigating about the problem – how much food gets wasted in your school? Then explore the solutions.
- What if the cafeteria went trayless? What if they offered an option of smaller portions?
- What if everyone that brought their own food to school became more mindful of how much they are able to eat?
- What if there is a way to redistribute the perfectly edible food to toher charities?
- Creating an awareness raising campaign can also help make a hige difference. Make a movie, take photos, spread the word through your school’s social network using the hashtag #ThinkEatSave
Criteria
Three winning projects will be selected based on;
- Creativity; what new ideas and approaches were employed by the students in addressing the issue of food waste (30%)
- effectiveness; what result were accomplished e.g how much food waste was reduced or what measures were adopted by the school to reduce food waste, and what plans are there to ensure the longevity of these reductions/new ideas (40%)
- Reach; what was the level of interest and support generated; how many students participated in the activities? Were teachers, cafeteria staff, parents and families actively engaged? How much sociall media engagement was employed (30%)
Application
- To participate, sign up online
- Build your team and start working on your plan
For more information, visit Think Eat Save Challenge.
