20 Days 'Til the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day: Improving School Lunches

Young Voices for the Planet is a film series that aims to share the success stories of the youth who are working to limit the negative effects of climate change. The goal is to address communities and society as a whole to make a difference for the planet. ​

In this film, high school students use entrepreneurial thinking to come up with ways to improve the quality of school lunches. They noticed that students were not satisfied with the school's meal options. Much of it was processed, not fresh, and the choices for people with dietary restrictions were extremely limited. They decided to tap into their natural resources and use local food markets and farmers for fresher and healthier lunches. Watch the video to see their journey!

These students worked diligently to improve their school lunches for everyone. Now, they have a greenhouse nearby to grow vegetables and use those for the cafeteria. They were able to come up with a successful project using entrepreneurial thinking.

Entrepreneurial thinking is the ability to look around what's normally expected or think outside of the box. These students created Project Sprout and spoke with school officials to partner up with local markets for fresher lunch options. What do your students think about their school lunch? How could they improve it? How would they bring this awareness to school officials? What kind of project would they start? 

This could be a potential activity you could do with your students. Have them create their own project or campaign. What environmental problem would they want to solve? What strategies would they use? Show them the Sustainable Development Goals for ideas on what issues they feel most passionate about and use our resources to help you guide them through the lesson!