Melody Engelbert, a third grader, drops her food waste Friday into a specified bin after lunch at Lisbon Community School. The school has been participating in a University of Maine program to reduce food waste in school lunchrooms as part of Maine Food Waste Awareness Week. Students are able to choose their portion sizes and leave unwanted whole fruit in a shared box. At the end of the meal, students separate all compostable food waste, which is picked up by Garbage to Gardens, a curbside composting service. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

University of Maine researcher Susanne Lee speaks Friday to Lisbon Community School students about the impacts of food waste and how to minimize it. The faculty fellow with the University of Maine’s Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions said that since the program began eight weeks ago, the school saw about a 20% reduction in food waste, which included a 35% average reduction in fruit and vegetable waste. Students are able to choose their portion sizes and leave unwanted whole fruit in a share box. At the end of the meal, students separate all compostable food waste, which is picked up by Garbage to Gardens, a curbside composting service. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal