Cleaner Wu Minghua (2nd, R) eats students' leftovers from lunch with his colleagues at a dinning hall of Yantai University, in Yantai city, East China's Shandong province, in this Oct 16, 2013 file photo. [Photo/CFP]

Cleaners at a university have come up with an innovative way to show students the value of food.

The cleaners working at Yantai University in Shandong province are eating the canteen leftovers to highlight the waste, China Youth Daily reported on Monday.

The seven cleaners, four men and three women from rural areas, range in age from 53 to 66 and felt the students did not appreciate the food on offer.

Then they decided to eat the leftovers as their dinner to remind students of the importance of food.