Management Food Waste in Municipality Schools: An Analysis from a Circular Economy Perspective

Background: Food waste is a situation that triggers certain controversy, considering that there is still a significant number of people who do not have access to healthy and nutritious food every day. The management of food leftovers from school lunches depends on the creation of measurement mechanisms. Thus, current characteristics of schools should be identified in order to mitigate and better manage these leftovers. This study addresses this gap, that is, it seeks to understand how food waste management is carried out in schools from a circular economy perspective. Methods: Focusing on the management of school lunches in municipal schools, this study aims to build an inductive interpretive theory in order to understand how schools promote food waste management. Results: Loss estimates and their monetization were identified and explained, and alternatives for waste recovery using the ReSOLVE framework were proposed. Conclusions: Therefore, it was assumed that the perspective of circularity is a possible and viable way to manage food waste in school lunches. Stakeholder engagement and awareness raising become necessary premises for success in the food circularity journey.