Hubungan Cita Rasa dan Variasi Makanan dengan Sisa Makan Siang Siswa SMP Swasta Nurul Azizi Kecamatan Medan Johor

Abstract

Food waste is one of the simple indicators that can be used to evaluate food service. High levels of food waste have an economic impact, resulting in lost costs and inaccurate food budgets, which prevent optimal meal cost management. Continuous food waste not only leads to unnecessary costs but also causes insufficient nutritional intake, especially when calorie intake falls short, which can be a factor leading to malnutrition. As is known, the nutritional needs of adolescents increase. If there is prolonged nutrient deficiency, adolescents may become weak, fatigued, and more susceptible to illness, which can result in a decline in academic performance. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between taste, food variety, and the amount of food waste during lunch at SMP Swasta Nurul Azizi, Medan Johor District. This research is a descriptive quantitative study using a cross-sectional design. The study was conducted at SMP Swasta Nurul Azizi in Medan Johor District. The sampling in this study used the Slovin formula with a sample size of 58 students. Data analysis was performed using univariate and bivariate analysis. The results showed that 55.2% of the students left food on their plates, with 46.6% reporting the taste as poor, 46.6% rating the food’s appearance as good, and 36.2% indicating that the food variety was adequate. Taste, appearance, and food variety were all found to have a significant relationship with food waste (p=0.001). From the results, it can be concluded that students who rated the food's taste, appearance, and variety positively tended to waste less food. It is recommended that there should be more variety in the types of food used, especially in plant-based side dishes, and that there should be staff to supervise the students to ensure that all students must eat their lunch during mealtime.