Save Money and Make Your Child's School Lunch More Green

With increased interest in green living, more and more people are looking for ways to make their kid's lunch more environmentally friendly. This year, many vendors are selling fancy lunch kits, some costing more than $50, for parents who want their kid's school lunch to be more green. Parents can buy reusable sandwich wraps, bento boxes, and other eco-friendly lunch items.

But even if you don't buy these high-end lunch kits, you can make a big difference just by starting with simple changes.

Ditch Brown Paper Bags
If you don't already have one, get your kid a reuseable lunch container or lunch bag at the grocery store. You don't need to spend a lot of money, but a really durable lunch box, like the ones made by L. L. Bean, will last a second year (reducing waste). Small grocery bags, reusable shopping bags, and other small bags may also work as containers for school lunches. You can also pack your kid's lunch in a large plastic container, though your kid will be happiest with a real lunch bag.

Skip Water Bottles and Juice Boxes
My daughter reports that in her school, there's a special garbage bin for all those drink containers. So to reduce waste, nix the disposable water bottles, juice boxes, drink bags with attached straws, and soda cans. Get your kid a Thermos or reusable water bottle and put that in the school lunch bag. Because individually packaged drinks are expensive, the reusable water bottle will pay for itself. An added bonus is the health benefits: consuming too many sugary and sweet drinks is associated with obesity in children.

Don't Buy Single-Serving Foods
Try to avoid individually portioned sides, treats, or goodies. Instead of buying single serving bags of chips or cookies and pudding or yogurt cups, buy a big bag or large container and portion them into single servings yourself at home.

Also avoid buying single-serving entree items made for school lunches. Instead of buying Lunchables, get a box of crackers and cold cuts and pack your own small containers. It really will only take a few minutes, and you can do it the night before. Instead of Uncrustables--individually wrapped, frozen, and boxed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that are popular at my daughter's school--make the real deal for your child's school lunch. Making your own sandwiches for a school lunch doesn't take that long, and you can always do that the night before and store the lunch box in the fridge. Plus sandwiches are far less expensive if you make them yourself, and crackers and cold cuts cost much less in bulk than in Lunchables.

Eliminate Plastic Forks and Spoons
If your child likes yogurt, cottage cheese, pudding, or other foods eaten with a spoon, pick up some inexpensive silverware at a yard sale and send it in the school lunch bag instead of a plastic spoon. You won't need to worry about your kid losing your "good" silveware, and you can pick up a supply of used forks and spoons at a yard sale or thrift store for less than the cost of a box of plastic spooons. While you're in the thrift shop, you might even look for cloth napkins if you're ambitious enough to wash them (I'm not).

Use Less Meat
Finally, consider sending your kid with a vegetarian lunch a couple of times a week, or reducing the amount of meat in your child's school lunch. Producing and transporting meat accounts for a large fraction of our greenhouse gas emissions, and modern industrial farming is associated with a considerable environmental cost. Americans eat considerably more meat per person than people in many other countries.

Instead of a turkey or roast beef sandwich, try cheese and crackers, cream cheese and jelly on a bagel, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, egg salad, or hummus and crackers or pita bread. Because meat is among the more expnsive foods, these switches will save you money.