This year, a Green Machine student team evaluated the food stalls during Uniting Nations week. Students evaluated each stall based on two main criteria.

Criteria 1: whether the stall had any single-use plastic packaging. The stalls were evaluated according to the following predefined scores:

• Two points if there was no packaging of any kind

• One point if they had compostable disposables

• No points if plastic disposables were used

Criteria 2: we evaluated the stall based on whether the stall had plant-based food. Each stall was evaluated according to the following predefined scores:

• Two points if there was at least two plant-based dishes, with at least one meat-free option

• One point if there was at least one plant-based food that is meat free but may contain dairy or eggs

• No points if all the dishes contained meat

By the end of the evaluation, the students totalled up the scores. If a stall scored four points, they would be awarded the “Greenest Stall”. If a stall scored three points, they would get the “Green Enthusiast Award” while a stall with 2 points would get the “Green Start-up Award”. However, if a stall had 1 or no points, they would receive student feedback on how to improve and make their stall more eco-friendly.

France was one stall that received the Greenest Stall award. The student who evaluated the French stall said: “They used reusable kitchen towels, carried their food in a bowl and had many different kinds of foods with various ingredients. They also made the stall look interesting by including the France theme. They used reusable containers as well and included plant-based foods that didn't include any meat.”