Green Living Tips: A How-To for More Eco-Friendly Kids' Lunches

When it comes to kids' lunches, plastic boxes are the norm, often with plastic cups to go with them. Plastic cups and bottles can sometimes contain BPA though, a possibly harmful chemical that is found in some plastics and that has been banned in certain places. Not to mention that the plastic takes far too long to degrade and too much energy to produce. So what is a green parent to do?

First of all, don't send disposable utensils with your child's lunch. Send with them some biodegradable utensils, made from corn, or some regular silverware if they're old enough. Better though is to send them finger foods. Cloth napkins instead of paper towels is a much more eco-friendly choice. Make certain that if they're drinking from plastic bottles that they're BPA free and not the kind that can easily degrade and leach chemicals into their drinks. An aluminum thermos or canteen is a nice option.

Organic food is great but not always a budget-friendly solution when your child is packing a lunch 5 days out of the week. One way to reduce the cost is to visit your local farmers' market for ingredients. Or you can join what's called a CSA which is basically a delivery service from a local farm. Often a CSA will not give you a choice in what produce they deliver every week, so check into your options before deciding to go this route. Local jam, cheese, or honey would be a great addition to a lunch. Your kids may be interested in growing their own food, as well. You can easily take care of a tomato or strawberry plant even in an apartment.

Local produce can be used to make juices for your kids to drink as well. If you send soda with your child, make sure it's in a can and not a bottle, and have them bring it home to recycle it. Even better would be filtered water from your tap, which is free and doesn't require as much packaging. You can also often find local milk at nearby farmers' markets.

Lastly, is the choice of a box. Growing in popularity are bento boxes. These are like lunchboxes but they have separate compartments for individual foods and are often made from wood, bamboo, stell, and other more sustainable materials. These are a wonderful alternative to the traditional plastic lunchbox. Or go retro with a great metal lunchbox. You can either find a vintage one or choose a new, retro styled one. The metal can be more usefully recycled, and if you go with vintage you'll be reusing and keeping older but still useful items out of the landfill!