Waste-Free Lunches
At Prairie Crossing Charter School, we strive to have 100% waste-free lunches. Here are some helpful tips to assist you in creating waste-free lunches, wherever you go!
Let’s Do Lunch: Waste-Free Tips and Lunch Ideas
- Buy in bulk and pack individual servings in reusable containers. This not only reduces the amount of trash but is often much more economical too!
- Send cloth napkins instead of disposable napkins or paper towels.
- Fill reusable drink bottles 1/3 full of water or juice. In the morning top off the frozen liquid with more of the same liquid and the beverage will stay cold until lunch time.
- When packing leftovers from dinner, pack some right into the lunch containers for the next day. Or they can be frozen until your child is in the mood for that menu item again in a few weeks.
- Apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon and a little sugar taste great (and the kids won’t notice the browning).
- Make your own pudding cups. Whip-up a batch of pudding, pour and store in serving size containers. This also works with applesauce – make (or buy) a large amount and pack it in reusable containers. Less trash!
- Instead of small containers of yogurt (many of which are not recyclable) buy a larger container of vanilla yogurt and add your own toppings (such as cinnamon, fruit or granola).
- Send in grated cheese in one container and a soft tortilla in another. A quick turn in the microwave makes instant quesadillas. For the more adventurous students send along salsa and some chopped lettuce and tomatoes.
- Why pay for Lunchables when you can pack your own? Buying block cheese and a larger box of multi-grain crackers is MUCH less expensive and greatly reduces the amount of trash.
- For kids who like omelets, make an extra one with their favorite ingredients and pack it up.
- Roll-up your child’s favorite lunch meat and/or cheese with some light cream cheese in a multi-grain tortilla – YUM!
As a general rule of thumb, anything you cook or prepare for your family at home is more nutritious (and creates less trash) than instant, pre-packed, processed foods.