Eco-Friendly Lunch Supply Ideas

O’Bear came home from school the other day and told me they had a speaker come in and talk about how to make your lunch waste-free and gave the kids a goal to do it for a week. I said, ‘but you already do that!’ and he smiled and said, ‘yep that is what I told them!’.

Today we want to share some of our eco-friendly lunch ideas. Grab an item every month and you’ll soon have a good stash.

I have 3 Goals when it comes to School Lunches.

1) Save Money. My boys are allowed to pick one day a week for Hot Lunch. This is only because they really like being able to choose the ‘hot’ option in class. Of course I don’t think it can taste as good, but whatever. I go with the flow, but only ONE time a week! Why? Because making my own lunches are cheaper, especially when I’m not buying anything but food to put inside.

2) Being Green. No plastic ziploc bags. No paper bags or napkins. No juice boxes. No plastic water bottles. I’m helping to save our environment.

3) Easy for my Boys. They don’t have to worry about getting up and throwing anything away. Just pack it all back in their bag and bring it home. Do you know how nice this is because I can see what they didn’t eat? I remember throwing away so much when I was kid! Hope my mom isn’t reading this.

 

What you need…

Cloth napkins. All my napkins are cute. Make it fun!

Reusable snack/sandwich bags & containers. I use the bags mostly for snack-type options like crackers and popcorn. I like my sandwiches to be sealed in both bpa-free plastic & stainless steel containers. You need all different sizes! Big ones to fit sandwiches and salads to tiny ones for dips. I have many because each child uses more than one per lunch and I won’t usually wash before I pack the next day’s lunch.

Insulated drink bottles. Insulated is important so that it stays cold for lunch. I use the smaller sizes for lunch boxes and the bigger jugs for water bottles to keep on their desks throughout the day.

Spoons. While we do have a few cheap bamboo ones the kids bring back, but my favorite are these cute plastic ones the neighborhood ice cream store gives out with your order. We just wash them again and again and no big deal if they don’t come home.

The whole meal goes into a Reusable Lunch Bag!

In the photo above you’ll spy many items available in the YouChange store. This online shop is part of Earth911.com and gives their readers a place to purchase eco-friendly products to support their lifestyle. There have a TON in all areas so be sure to check it out! More about Earth911 in a second.

Perserve Food Storage Container

ECOLunchBox

To-Go Ware

Eco Ditty Sandwich Bags

That is my lunch supplies!

I want you to check out Earth911.com. It’s a fabulous informational site that has been around for more than 20 years! Their goal is to help you, the consumer, live a waste-free life. They’ve created forums to chat with others, YouChange marketplace to buy eco-friendly goods, and have posted hundreds of articles and ideas from around the web to show you that it IS easy to live a better lifestyle. Visit today!

What lunch ideas do you use to Be Green?

I partnered with Green Moms Media for this sponsored post.