Lunch Duty

Let me be clear: I hate making lunches. Loath may be more accurate. Abhor. Every morning when I take that ten minutes to put my kids' lunches together I get grumpy. But while I would love the convenience of hot lunches, the options at both of my kids' schools are below par at best. And it's important to me that my kids have a decent midday meal. 

So while the lunchable, pre-fab meals would solve these problems, I just can't do it. They're a crime, in my opinion, both nutritionally and environmentally. They're over-packaged and over-salted. So what's a lunch-packing person to do?

Consider the average elementary school lunch. If you're lucky your kid uses a reusable lunch bag. But there is where many, if not most of the waste reduction stops. Plastic baggies for sandwiches, ziploc baggies for snacks, individual containers of applesauce or raisins, plastic spoons, paper napkins; does any of this sound familiar? The amount of food that gets tossed each day is bad enough, but the packaging that goes into the trash with it is cringe-worthy. Yes, those disposables are convenient, and on field-trip days there's just no getting around them, but on a day-to-day basis, we can do better.

That brings me to the next Green Homes Challenge:  

No disposables in our or our kids' lunches! 

We can do it! I promise!

The key is making it easy. And with a little effort out front, it is. Green Homes has found some lunch containers that virtually eliminate your need for disposables.


You can buy 'lunch kits' that have compartments for all the different food groups, or you can buy loads of reusable plastic containers in varying sizes. Here are a couple places to find them:

http://order.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_www/tup_show_item.show_item_detail?fv_item_category_code=21808&fv_item_number=P10055361000

 Your classic Tupperware - never goes out of style!

                    

http://www.laptoplunches.com/products.html

            Aren't they cute??

Locally, Healthy Green Goods on Main Street in Evanston carries the laptop lunch kits featured above.


So buy a couple kits, fill up the compartments, and send a cloth napkin and real silverware with their lunch. It's easy, it virtually eliminates any waste and maybe it'll catch on in your school cafeteria.  Most importantly, bring your kids into the process.  Tell them we're trying to have zero waste.  Maybe ask them to challenge their friends to do the same.   Remember, when you throw something away, there is no away.  It goes somewhere!

Small steps.  Big impact.  

Good luck!