Why Leftovers are a Waste Problem

1. This question has two parts. First answer Part A and then answer Part B. 

Part A: 

What is the author’s perspective on leftovers?

• Ⓐ The author thinks having leftovers are helpful to families who struggle for food. 

• Ⓑ The author thinks leftovers are a problem for new restaurants.

• Ⓒ The author thinks leftovers are beneficial to working parents.

• Ⓓ The author thinks leftovers are a problem because they turn to waste.

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1. Part B 

Select two pieces of evidence from the passage that support your response to Part A. 

• “During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when restaurants first shut down, Americans stocked up on groceries.” (paragraph 1)

• “In general, leftovers can be a convenient future meal, but they have got a dark side, too.” (paragraph 1)

• “We create food waste everywhere—on farms, in grocery stores, at restaurants and even at home.”  (paragraph 2)

• “In one behavior, the researchers found that people are more likely to pick at leftovers and not fully eat them, leading to food waste.” (paragraph 4)

• “In another behavior, they found that eating leftovers seemed to inspire eating other foods too.” (paragraph 5)

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1. Select the sentence that supports the author’s perspective that leftovers are a problem because they turn into waste.

• Ⓐ “Pollution is when we introduce things into the environment that can be harmful and/or poisonous.” (paragraph 2)

• Ⓑ “When food rots, it releases greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide.” (paragraph 3)

• Ⓒ “During the weeklong study, the study subjects altogether piled 1,200 different foods on their plates.” (paragraph 4) 

• Ⓓ “In one behavior, the researchers found that people are more likely to pick at leftovers and not fully eat them, leading to food waste.” (paragraph 4)

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1. What is the central idea of Why Leftovers Are a Food Waste Problem? 

• Ⓐ Leftovers are often not eaten which eventually turns to waste and contributes to pollution.

• Ⓑ Leftovers have become more normal since the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Ⓒ An economist and his research team studied food waste through a week-long study with participants.

• Ⓓ People can avoid throwing away so much food by choosing smaller meals.

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1. Which detail supports the central idea? 

• Ⓐ “During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when restaurants first shut down, Americans stocked up on groceries.” (paragraph 1)

• Ⓑ “Leftovers and other unspoiled food that we throw away is called food waste.” (paragraph 2)

• Ⓒ  “Greenhouse gasses contribute to global warming, which is an increase in the average global temperature over time.” (paragraph 3)

• Ⓓ “They tracked the eating habits of 18 men and women in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.” (paragraph 4)

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1. Select the most accurate summary of the text Why Leftovers Are a Food Waste Problem. 

• Ⓐ Leftovers are often not eaten which eventually turns to waste and contributes to pollution. We create food waste everywhere—on farms, in grocery stores, at restaurants and even at home. It is a large problem that wastes resources and causes pollution, which harms our environment.

• Ⓑ An economist named Brian Roe and his research team studied food waste through a week-long study with participants. They tracked the eating habits of 18 men and women in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The participants tracked what they ate using an iPhone app. The researchers observed what the participants ate, saved or threw away. Even Roe has Tupperware sitting around at home.

• Ⓒ Leftovers have become more normal since the COVID-19 pandemic. Americans started buying more groceries during that time because of all of the restaurants that were closed. Due to this, leftovers became more prevalent in American households. People can cut down on this waste by choosing smaller meals during meal time.

• Ⓓ Leftovers are often not eaten which eventually turns to waste and contributes to pollution. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, leftovers have become more prevalent in American homes. An economist named Brian Roe and his team conducted a study to track food waste from leftovers and found that people are more likely to pick at leftovers or it inspires them to eat other food too.

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1. Select two details that would be included in a summary of the text Why Leftovers Are a Food Waste Problem. 

• “It is a large problem that wastes resources and causes pollution.” (paragraph 2)

• “When we throw food away, we also waste all of the energy that goes into these processes.” (paragraph 2)

• “Roe and his team wanted to study food waste. They decided to focus on leftovers.” (paragraph 4)

• “Could this be a way to get people to eat their vegetables? The researchers thought this could be a possibility.” (paragraph 5)

• "I'm guilty of this myself; we have things left over from last Thanksgiving still sitting in our freezer." (paragraph 6)

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