Change Champs: How can we avoid food waste? [KS1]

Oaklie: I am Oaklie and this is Vela.

Vela: We are change champs, and we are going to have lunch with Jon. Jon knows a lot about how we can look after the environment, by not wasting food.

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

(FOOD CRUNCHING)

Oaklie: This food is really delicious, but we are wondering what will happen to all of our leftovers.

Vela: We are hoping Jon could tell us.

Jon: You know, there's some really great ways that we can deal with our leftover food. And the great news is that the food waste can actually help the environment, if we get rid of the food waste correctly.

Oaklie: Our tummies are starting to get full, so maybe it's time to stop eating!

Jon: I'm going to give you a surprise mission. Oaklie, You can open it?

Oaklie: Thank you.

Vela: Your mission is to find three ways to stop food from being wasted, in a way that helps the planet.

Jon: What different kinds of food waste can you think of?

Vela: Carrot peeling, potato skin, and eggshells!

Oaklie: Chicken bones! Banana skin.

Jon: Okay team, to help you with your mission, I'm going to give you three important tips. Tip number one, we can prevent food waste by only buying the things that we need.

Oaklie: We already did this when we were shopping. We made a list, and we thought about how much we would need, and didn't buy too much.

Jon: Tip number two, there's lots of food people throw away, which can actually be eaten. Stale bread can be turned into breadcrumbs or croutons for soup, and potato peelings can be baked and eaten like crisps. And some leftovers can be stored and saved for another day.

Oaklie: We are wondering what could be done with these leftovers?

Jon: We've got some fabric, that what we do is we put some bees wax over it, and melt it into the fabric and it makes it kind of, like you can wrap it around things.

Vela: We definitely shouldn't throw away the cake, this can be eaten another day.

Oaklie: The melon, the carrots, and the cucumber too.

Jon: Okay, that's really great. Look at all the food that we're saving from going into the food waste. Shall we, shall we put it in the fridge for another day?

Girl: Yeah!

Jon: Great!

Can you reach up there?

Okay, ready? Last tip, any food waste, which can't be eaten, can instead be used in compost, or sent for recycling. Can anyone see any more food waste?

Vela: Well, that's carrot peelings, and there's lemon and there's potato skin.

Oaklie: And eggshells.

Jon: Well done, change champs! Okay, let's get it ready. So something you can do with eggshells, if you crush them up, they're really good for the compost, but they can take a long time to break down all the nutrients, and things come out of it, and we'll put them in the compost.

(UPBEAT ACOUSTIC MUSIC)

Okay, the great thing is when we put this into the composter, very tiny living things, called microorganisms will break down all this food and waste, turning it into compost. It takes a bit of time, but eventually I'll be able to use the compost in my garden to help my plants grow.

So what are we left with?

Vela: Well, we're left with bread, chicken, cheese, and ham.

Oaklie: Ham!

Jon: Right now, this can't go in my composter in the garden. So what are we going to do with it?

Oaklie: We put it in this?

Jon: Absolutely, right. The council refuse collectors will take it all away, and join all this food waste with everyone else's, and then either turn it into products that can improve the soil, or use the gases made by the waste as fuel for electricity.

Oaklie: We have learnt so much about food waste,

Vela: And how to use compost, and recycling bins.

Oaklie: We can all be change champs! Yoo hoo!

(ACOUSTIC GUITAR STRUM)