A Proposal for a Three-Week Low-Waste Lunch Trial


Dear Mrs. Henderson,
We are writing to you on behalf of the Sixth-Grade Green Team Committee. Over the past two months, our committee members have monitored the cafeteria cleanup stations during our lunch period. Every afternoon, we watch three fifty-gallon trash barrels overflow with thin plastic film wrap, individually bagged carrots, unopened plastic condiment packets, and plastic sporks sealed in clear sleeves. While our cafeteria serves meals that students enjoy, the amount of single-use wrapping left behind at the end of each period is impossible to ignore.
We understand that you have to balance many practical rules that students do not usually see. Food safety codes, strict kitchen prep times, and district budgets all shape how our food is served. Wrapping every item at a central facility keeps food clean and speeds up the lunch line. However, we believe our school can cut down on disposable plastic without making the cafeteria unhygienic or difficult to run. We would like to propose a bounded, three-week trial during the first three weeks of November to test simple, low-waste alternatives for just two menu items.
- bounded:
- Having clear limits or boundaries; limited in time and scope.
- alternatives:
- Other choices or options that can be used instead of something else.
- unhygienic:
- Not clean or sanitary; likely to spread germs or cause disease.
- contamination:
- The process of making something dirty, unclean, or impure by adding germs or waste.
- accessibility:
- The ease with which people, especially those with disabilities, can use or reach something.
- budget-neutral:
- Causing no net change in total spending, neither saving money nor costing more.
- assumptions:
- Things that are accepted as true without having proof or evidence.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What specific problem did the Sixth-Grade Green Team observe during cafeteria cleanup over the past two months?
- 2Why does the committee argue that individual plastic wrap on whole fresh fruit is unnecessary?
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About this persuasive letter passage for 6th Grade
“A Proposal for a Three-Week Low-Waste Lunch Trial” is a persuasive letter reading passage about reducing school lunch waste, written for 6th Grade. It takes about 6 minutes to read (847 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.


