Packing a Sustainable Lunch

Tips For Packing a Sustainable Lunch

Want to teach your kids smart tricks for protecting the planet? One of the simplest, cheapest and most affordable ways to green your routine is to pack a healthy, planet-friendly lunch! School lunches run the risk of being pretty bad for the environment – disposable bags, processed food, unnecessary wrapping, the list goes on and on. Try these tips for packing your child a sustainable school lunch you can be proud of.

Ditch the disposables

Reusable sandwich bags and either reusable or biodegradable utensils are the most important factors of a sustainable school lunch. Throughout New Zealand and Australia, countless plastic sandwich bags are thrown in the rubbish, clogging up landfills and causing environmental problems.

Select fresh food

Secondly, if you are serious about putting the environment first, you’ll need to pack fresh, natural food for your child. Kids at Play, an organisation funded by the Australian government that specialises in children’s health, recommends that children consume five servings of vegetables and two services of fruit per day. Apples, oranges, mini carrots, and sandwiches made with whole-grain bread and locally cured luncheon meats are your best bets for healthy, eco-friendly fare.

If you have the budget for it, you may want to purchase all-organic produce as well. Organic food is better for the environment because farmers must forgo the use of harmful pesticides to grow food this way.

Make it fun

The key to living green? Make it fun! If your kids feel like their lunch isn’t as good as their friends’, they won’t be excited about sustainability. Get your kids excited by letting them help you pick out their food when packing a sustainable lunch. They may also enjoy helping you prepare lunches either before school or the night before. Finally, invest in a fun and funky lunch box (of their choosing, of course). They will enjoy having an accessory to show off to their friends each day at school.

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