With the carefree days of summer almost behind us and the start of the school year just around the corner, now is the time to start thinking about packing nutritious school lunches. But before you begin, let’s consider what your child’s food is packaged in. The most common single-use plastics that we use every day are food and beverage packaging. This is especially common with kids’ food products, including those marketed as “healthy.” Everything from bars, to cheese, to meat sticks, to drinks, to crackers, to treats — much of it is individually packaged. 

Many of us rely on convenience foods, and we live in a throwaway culture. Flashy packaging aimed to draw the attention of our kids enforces a cycle of convenience and preference. As a mom of two kids, I get it. Life gets busy! I have evaluated (and reevaluated!) my daily plastic use. But imagine the benefits if we all made a collective effort to reduce our use of plastic. First, it would result in less trash, fewer plastics used, and fewer microplastics impacting the earth on a global scale. Second, because prepackaged foods often are highly processed, it could push us toward a healthier diet. I would say that’s a huge win! Plus, you might even save some money in the long run, too.  

Making the decision to use less plastics might feel overwhelming at first; however, it will become easier with practice, and you will find foods your children enjoy that are not wrapped individually. You will find biodegradable wraps and bags, as well as reusable containers, that you like to use. It just requires you to want to make that change … and start! See my list below for some easy, actionable tips to start breaking away from the vicious throwaway cycle. And do remember, start small! Pick two to three options to start, and slowly add in more. A good place to begin is to pack lunches at night when you may have more time to make plastic-free choices. 

14 Ways To Reduce Plastics in School Lunches: 

1. Use beeswax wraps to wrap sandwiches or in place of plastic wrap. They last for years! 

2. Put loose snacks in paper or compostable snack bags. 

3. Use spill proof lunch boxes and snack containers.  

4. Put sauces and dips into reusable containers.  

5. Serve homemade soup in an insulated stainless steel jar/bottle to keep it warm.  

6. Instead of kid-sized bars, buy regular-sized bars and cut them in half or thirds.  

7. Trade out individually wrapped string cheese for cut slices of cheese from a cheese block.   

8. Rather than purchasing individually wrapped meat sticks, buy beef jerky in large bags and divide it out. 

9. Visit the bulk section of the Co-op for treats and snacks. 

10. In place of individual juice boxes, pour some juice into a reusable bottle and dilute with water. Not only are you cutting down on waste, but your kids get less fast-acting sugar. 

11. Include fresh fruit — it already is wrapped in nature’s compostable packaging.  

12. Make some easy treats and snacks at home with your kids (nutritional yeast popcorn, nut balls, muffins, bars, cookies, hardboiled eggs, egg muffins, etc.). 

13. Make extra dinner, so you have leftovers for lunch.  

14. Vote with your dollar and purchase packaged foods from companies that use biodegradable packaging.  

Now that you are armed with some actionable tips to reduce your plastic use, I hope you are ready to start the school year with fewer plastics in your daily routine. If you get some pushback from your kids, that’s okay! Take the opportunity to teach them about microplastics and perhaps they too will be motivated to help out.