The environmental impact of food waste in schools is significant. Given that over 100,000 schools participate in the NSLP, the food waste translates to 1.9 million metric tons of CO2e of greenhouse gases and over 20.9 billion gallons of embedded water (the water that went into producing the food that went to waste).104 Given the scale of waste resulting from school meal programs, schools should be a focal point for food waste education and reduction efforts.