In this day and age, thinking “green” has transitioned from a “fresh idea” to a social responsibility. At Let’s Dish!, we do all we can to be “green” in our stores while facing some challenges that are common to small businesses and the food industry alike; our team will share more in future posts about how we can collectively work to be more eco-friendly while dishing and cooking in your home. Today Let’s Dish! introduces “Dish Green,” a new blog category that will discuss how you can become more eco-friendly in your life.

We also invited Laurel Peltier, a freelance environmental writer, to become a “Dish Green” expert and pass on eco-friendly tips to our customers and Food for Thought readers.  Read on for Laurel’s fresh take on packing school lunches:

Looking for ways to become eco-friendly?An easy place to make a difference is with your child’s lunch.

Though juice boxes and individually wrapped ‘grab and go’ foods are convenient, they generate tons of trash. Each year the average child dumps sixty-seven pounds of lunchbox trash costing school districts valuable dollars to collect and dispose of the trash.

Re-thinking how your child’s meal gets packed can reduce trash going to landfills and has some unexpected benefits.

Here are some simple ways to pack a trash-free lunch:

• Send food in re-usable lunchboxes instead of paper bags.
• Instead of plastic wrap, foil or baggies, pack food in re-usable plastic containers or waxed paper bags.
• Consider buying foods in bulk or in larger boxes and packing a portion in re-usable plastic containers.
• Send drinks in a shatterproof thermos or an aluminum or stainless steel bottle. Or send in bottled water and recycle the bottle when it returns home. Look for non-leaching plastics coded #1, #2, #4 and #5 and visit www.iatp.org for an excellent plastics guide.
• Try cloth napkins, or re-usable silverware that can be washed at home.

In addition to feeling good about reducing trash, a few added benefits are:

• Parents save money. Individually wrapped goodies and drinks are premium-priced, often up to fifty-percent higher.
• Parents see leftovers. “Hmm, the healthy sandwich has one bite taken, and every cookie disappeared.” And, many kids snack on leftovers after school.
• Healthier food choices. Your food and drink options are limitless when you pack in re-usable containers and don’t rely on pre-packaged items, which tend to be processed foods.

To learn more about trash-free lunches for your family, or even your school, visit www.wastefreelunches.org.

— By Laurel Peltier, an environmental freelance writer. Feel free to email Laurel for more information on her “green” articles focused on families.

If you’d like to contribute posts to our “Dish Green” category, please email Food for Thought.

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