Kids Going Back To School? Here's Some Sustainable Lunch Container Ideas!
Kids Going Back To School?
Here's What You Need!
Shop sustainable this year with Green & Frugal by using reusable lunch and snack packaging for your kids. From a variety of patterns and colours, your kids won't be disappointed, AND you're helping our environment by shopping eco-friendly.
Benefits of Reusable Packaging:
Water Bottles:
Reusable water bottles are AMAZING, especially for students. Having your own water bottle instead of a plastic one helps the environment and helps differentiate which one is yours rather than accidentally picking up and using someone else's, which often happens with plastic bottles. Some extra benefits are:
* Picking from multiple patterns and colours
* Lots of different materials to choose from. Metal or silicone are especially great options for school lunches as they last a long time and you don't have to worry about glass breaking.
Lunch/Snack Containers:
Like water bottles, when using reusable lunch and snack packaging, it helps children differentiate which is theres. You can choose from silicone bags, cloth bags, and steel lunch boxes. Tip: Kids enjoy to pick the different patterns and colours that they love, so take them shopping with you so they can take pride in their new bag and actually bring it back home!
Steel containers are especially great as they last for years, are not breakable like glass, and some are leak-proof (look for a seal). 304 Food Grade is the best stainless steel grade to go with as it is less prone to rusting, making it last longer. While they may be expensive, over the long term you will save the most. They are safe to put in the dishwasher making them easy to clean. Tip: Put a name tag sticker on the bottom of the container in case it ends up in lost + found.
Silicone + Cloth Bags both have great features and come in many colors and patterns making them fun to use. Silicone options can be easily washed in the dishwasher, while the cloth bags can be thrown into the laundry. For young children these are great options as they are very easy for little hands to open.
Beeswax Wraps are also very useful for lunches! Make your own or buy them remade. Great for wraps! You can even fold them and turn them into "baggies".
Other tips:
One more product to think about is bamboo cutlery. Bamboo cutlery is safe for children of all ages and reusable. Choose from spoons, forks, non-sharp knives, and mini sporks! Perfect for school lunches like noodles or soup! Don't be scared to use your steel cutlery at home too - I pack them all of the time and get them back. Tip: offering a reward system to encourage kids to bring home reusable containers helps a lot.
Finally, we just wanted to note that aluminum foil and plastic baggies may be recyclable, but sadly the majority of items that go to our recycling depots don't get recycled. They end up in landfills, taking countless years to breakdown.
With all that being said. Shop sustainable this year. You can find a variety of sustainable and reusable packaging at our multiple locations or online https://greenandfrugal.com/