3rd TAGRA

Food waste in school catering represents a major environmental, ethical, and economic challenge. This study investigated food waste in two Tunis private primary schools operating under a centralized logistics model (reheating and service only, with three rapid shifts). It aimed to diagnose baseline waste causes and evaluate a short-term, gamified pedagogical intervention. The study targeted pupils from the 3rd to 6th grades (mean: 191/service). Phase 1 consisted of precise daily waste weighing during 10 days, and 224 face-to-face parental interviews. Phase 2 was a 10-day campaign combining empathy-based education (a cartoon anthropomorphizing a strawberry's lifecycle, followed by a discussion), and social gamification (a "Zero Waste Table Captains" inter-table competition with merit points). The baseline diagnosis revealed critical thresholds being exceeded: kitchen surplus stood at 14.4% (Vaz limit: 3%), plate waste reached 39% (Aragão limit: 10%), and the overall Waste/Consumption Index peaked at 64.23% (106g/pupil; Ferrara threshold: 15%). Raw salads were initially the most rejected item (163%), while bread was well-preserved (2.41%). The parental survey highlighted a structural paradox: 91% viewed waste as an ethical/religious transgression, yet only 29% systematically educated their children about it. This gap was aggravated by oversized portions and rushed shifts. Following the campaign, the overall index achieved a 58% reduction, dropping sharply to 26.88% for the waste/consumption index (49g/pupil, a 54% decrease in mass). Post-intervention food typologies revealed an important drop in salad waste to 25.30%. Conversely, cereal dishes remained critical, with pasta at 38.72% and couscous at 96.22%. The intervention successfully triggered a behavioral shift, particularly regarding vegetable acceptance. However, high waste in cereal products shows that behavioral nudging must be paired with operational updates to tackle rigid, oversized portion sizes.
Acknowledgments: The authors want to thank Bouebdelli Education Group for their valuable support throughout this research project.