Packing an Eco-Friendly Lunch New Britain CT

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The Container: Your child’s lunch bag or box can be an expression of their personality and their concern for the planet. Keep it green by using a reusable container that will last for years.

There are some great options out there that will even make kids excited to pack their own lunch. Check out Built NY’s award winning lunch tote that opens into a placemat and insulates food and drink separately. Or try Lap Top Lunches, a Bento Box style container that holds food in 5 separate compartments. Both are available at Reusable Bags, a resource for eco-friendly bags of all kinds. If you want to really show some style, try using a Furoshiki, a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth that can be wrapped in many ways to hold food and drinks. Or if vintage is more your style, Pac-Man and Gremlins lunchboxes abound on eBay and at garage sales.

The Packaging: Packaging has become somewhat of a dirty word these days, and with good reason. In most parts of the developed world, packaging constitutes one–third of the solid waste stream. Although those little individually wrapped snack packs seem so convenient, they create mountains of waste and use up valuable resources. Try buying in bulk and put food in reusable containers. Make sure to use containers that will not leach dangerous toxins into the food. Send kids off with a refillable water bottle. Keep a few informal pieces of silverware and cloth napkins on hand to throw into the lunch box. If you must use throw away materials, wrap food in biodegradable wax paper or tin foil…but just make sure to recycle it!The Food: Try to buy local, organic and sustainable food. To keep kids healthy all year long, freeze fruits and veggies in the summer. The Eternal Struggle: Getting kids to eat their lunch. Probably the biggest blow to the environment is wasted food. All the energy and resources used to get food from a seed to your child’s lunch box will truly be wasted if it ends up in the trash. To get your kids to eat, encourage them to help pick out and prepare their school lunch. This is a great opportunity to talk about where the food came from and how it will make their bodies strong. Pack a little variety into their meals. And remember, presentation counts; kids often highly disapprove of different foods touching.

Here are some crowd pleasers they’re bound to like:

• Cut up fruit...

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  Author: Deirdre Gill