Green Ideas for Making Lunches for Kids

Environmentally-Friendly Ways to Pack School Lunchboxes

Aug 19, 2009

Think green when packing lunch for the kids during the school year. Here are some helpful tips to make lunch have a positive impact on children and the planet.

Parents have to make or pay for a lunch every day for their kids, so it’s a wise idea to find out how to do so in the greenest and cleanest way possible while still keeping kids happy.

Pack Kids a Lunch

Parents who pack lunches for their kids are already one step ahead when it comes to making a positive change for the environment. Packing a lunch involves less energy use and creates less waste compared to relying on food from the cafeteria or corner store.

Part of that includes getting kids to bring their containers and bottles back home from school. Reuse them for as long as possible. When they are reaching the end of their days, wash them out and put them in the recycling bin. Washing plastic and metal containers out at home, before they are recycled, takes less energy than it does for the same items to be cleaned at the recycling plant.

Bring Water From Home

Water is good for children, but try not to put bottled water into their lunches. Every year, tens of millions of plastic water bottles are thrown out and find their way to landfills in the U.S. A kinder choice for the Earth is to use a reusable bottle and refill it with water each day of school. As well, there are no set standards for checking and controlling what goes into bottled water, and most places in North America have good to excellent drinking water already available from the tap. Parents can contact city hall or a local health unit if they have any questions about the quality of their tap water.

If parents want to put juice or milk into their children’s lunch, it’s better to buy a large jug or container to last the week than it is to buy individual juice boxes for each day. Juice boxes can be recycled, but the bigger the container, the less packaging is involved and the smaller the impact on the environment.

Kids Can Carry Food in Bags or Lunchboxes

Cloth bags and sacks are becoming more popular these days, for carrying everything from books to lunches. Lunchboxes can also be used, try checking out second-hand stores and garage sales to pick up one. If there is an old lunchbox or two kicking around the house, parents can make an art project with kids to decorate them with stickers and glue on artwork. That way kids can have their own unique lunchboxes.

If parents have paper or plastic bags at home, these can be used and reused to carry lunches as well. Another idea is to use a cloth or handkerchief to hold food, by wrapping and tying up the items inside. Instead of packing paper napkins, put in cloth ones that the kids can bring home to be cleaned and reused. If the napkin is big enough, it can be used to wrap up and carry the food.

Reuse Plastic Bags and Containers

The plastic bags that bread and bagels come in can be reused to hold sandwiches. Takeout containers from restaurants are also good for carrying food in to school. The containers and cups for things like yogurt, cream cheese, and dips can be reused for lunch foods. Get kids to bring the containers and plastic bags back home to be cleaned and used again, when they are getting worn out or cracked, they can be washed out and recycled.

Pack Foods that Come in Natural Wrappers

Many companies advertise snack size and child-friendly packaging to save parents time, but the planet pays the price. Think about how much trash is created each week, let alone each year, if kids’ lunches are full of pre-packaged food.

Go for raw foods that come in natural wrappers. Examples that are easy to put in a lunch include oranges, apples, bananas, avocados and baby tomatoes. Less water and energy is used to produce raw food and homemade compared to processed food. Packing fresh fruits and vegetables is not only good for the environment, it is good for kids health as well.

Instead of buying granola bars that are each individually packaged, make homemade granola or a simple trail mix with nuts and raisins. Another idea is to boil eggs and pop one into their lunchboxes.

Remind kids to bring home their leftovers to put in the compost bin or encourage their teacher to start a worm farm for the classroom so kids can put their leftovers there.

Look Locally for Lunch Ideas

Whenever parents can, shop for food that is grown locally or is grown close to home. Shopping for food that is in season and locally produced means less energy and processing is involved in transporting the food. Often this also means lower prices for food because the shipping costs are much lower. Visit farmers markets and local grocery stores to find such produce. Parents can also feel good about supporting local businesses. Buy organic when possible. And, if parents have space, they can try growing a garden in their backyard, in pots on a balcony or even in a window box.

Going green means packing lunches instead of giving kids money for the cafeteria. Avoid food that is processed and over-packaged and go for fresh fruit and vegetables instead. This is a wiser choice for the planet and also a healthier choice for kids. Try to buy local and even growing food in the backyard or in a window box if it’s possible. Reuse plastic bags and containers and get kids to bring back their leftovers to be composted and their containers to be washed and used again.

The copyright of the article Green Ideas for Making Lunches for Kids in Holistic Parenting is owned by Tamiko Nicholson. Permission to republish Green Ideas for Making Lunches for Kids in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.