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Food waste on LAUSD campuses

Mele Vehikite, 16, left, Ellie Gutierrez, 17, and Antonio Ramos, 18, eat lunch at Washington Preparatory High School in L.A. The school is required to serve three items, including a fruit and a vegetable, even if students do not want them.

Mele Vehikite, 16, left, Ellie Gutierrez, 17, and Antonio Ramos, 18, eat lunch at Washington Preparatory High School in L.A. The school is required to serve three items, including a fruit and a vegetable, even if students do not want them.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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On hundreds of campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school system, which serves 650,000 meals a day, students throw out at least $100,000 worth of food a day - and probably far more, according to estimates by David Binkle, the district’s food services director.

School food waste

An uneaten lunch sits on the ground at Washington Prep. L.A. Unified discards about $18 million worth of food each year, according to David Binkle, the food services director.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

School food waste

Kitchen worker Andrea Jimenez, left, keeps the food stocked as a student grabs food items in the lunch line at Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Los Angeles.  (Christina House / For The Times)

School food waste

Students eat lunch in the cafeteria at Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Los Angeles. Many health and nutrition experts say offering students a variety of healthy items will push them to try them.  (Christina House / For The Times)

School food waste

Students lunch at Bravo Medical Magnet High School. The $11.6-billion federal school lunch program feeds 31 million students daily.  (Christina House / For The Times)

School food waste

Half-eaten lunches remain on cafeteria tables.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

School food waste

The 2010 Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act championed by First Lady Michelle Obama imposed a dizzying array of requirements on calories, portion sizes, even the color of fruits and vegetables to be served.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

School food waste

Students throw away most of the hot lunch at Washington Prep.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

School food waste

Cheetos wrappers litter the steps by the student store at Washington Prep.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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