FOOD IN, GARBAGE OUT CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

RELATED LESSON PLAN
Inquiry project: Keeping Your Garbage Bin Empty (in printable PDF format)

RELATED CONFLICT RESOLUTION EXERCISE
Garbage (in printable PDF format)

Feeding New Yorkers is neither an inexpensive nor an easy issue. In this $ 20- billion- dollar-a- year business, food comes from all over the world and makes New Yorkers buffet remarkably diverse. How does all that food get to our tables? What happens with the garbage we generate after eating? In which ways we can contribute to reduce the amount of garbage that we produce?

In Food In, Garbage Out, you will find interesting information about food and garbage in New York City that can be integrated to classroom inquiry projects. For instance, students can research the origins of different kinds of food they eat every day, learn how long that food must travel to get to the city and find the green markets located close to school or their homes. Students can also investigate the ways garbage is managed after we throw it away, and calculate how much garbage an average New Yorker produces annually. They can also analyze the kinds of garbage they generate at home and propose ways to limit waste production.

Bringing students’ resources into the science classroom
Middle-school students usually have a great diversity of experiences and knowledge about food and garbage that can be used to make classroom activities relevant to them. For instance, students from different ethnicities can teach other members of the class about the typical foods of their countries of origin. Along these lines, students’ parents can come to school as expert guests and teach children the ways they prepare food at home and bring their knowledge on how they select the best food for their families. Students can also investigate the nutritional value of school lunch and learn about healthy eating habits.

Students can connect the topic of garbage to their everyday lives by becoming aware of the amount of garbage they generate at home and at school, as well as by learning how to reduce the amount of garbage they generate by reusing and recycling things (see lesson Keeping Your Garbage Bin Empty). Students can also research the ways garbage is managed in New York City and the history of waste management.

Finally, students can set up a compost bin in school and gain first-hand experience on the ways some kinds of food can be transformed into a nutrient-rich material that can be integrated to soil. They can also use the compost they generated to grow plants and vegetables. The compost project is also a concrete way to connect the topic of garbage to the cycle of matter, a key concept in Biology.

RELATED LESSON PLAN
Inquiry project: Keeping Your Garbage Bin Empty (in printable PDF format)

RELATED CONFLICT RESOLUTION EXERCISE
Garbage (in printable PDF format)