Parents with children returning to school need to get ready to pack roughly 200 lunches for school days this year. That doesn’t include snacks for after school activities or sports. The website Waste Free Lunches can help with it’s emphasis on packing healthy, well planned lunches, as well as helping the environment by eliminating single use plastic bags and wrapping.
The two moms behind this website and the creators of the laptop lunchbox also wrote a book that is included with your purchase of these bento-style boxes. It was written to help guide parents and inspire nutritious, earth-friendly lunch ideas. There is a sampling of these ideas on the Laptop Lunches site. Sending your child back-to-school with a waste-free lunchbox is a great way to start the school year and go the extra mile by reducing waste and renewing your commitment to your child’s health. In light of the recent issue with traditional lunch boxes testing high for lead and other toxic substances, this custom solution with bisphenol-A-free polypropylene square boxes and lids, and a phthalates-free carrying case is wonderful to ease your mind that your child is eating from a non-toxic product.
I noticed something on their web site that inspires parents with taking the waste-free concept to a higher level. Looking to make a difference in your school and help the planet – what about starting a waste-free lunch program at your school? I would never suggest a concept that is incredibly difficult to coordinate or manage, but this seems pretty easy! This would be an incredible school initiative!
“A waste-free lunch program is a process of educating students, parents, and school staff about where our trash ends up and how we, as individuals, can reduce the amount of trash we generate. Waste-free lunch programs favor the use of reusable food containers, drink containers, utensils, and napkins. They discourage the use of disposable packaging, such as prepackaged foods, plastic bags, juice boxes and pouches, paper napkins, and disposable utensils.”