Everything you need for a Zero Waste Back-to-School Lunch-Kit

It’s that time of year again, back-to-school! Not sure if your kids are exited, but luckily mine are! I’m often less exited with summer coming to an end and everything that comes with back-to-school; the sales, the supplies, the emails and the lunches… not to mention how everyone’s schedule just get busier. Well, one step of getting set up for success is having a good lunch kit and all the necessary supplies to go with it. Bear with me here and I hope to get you informed on everything you need for a zero waste back-to-school lunch kit.

The problem is that it can be so easy and convenient to to buy pre-packaged snacks and lunches. Let’s face it, they’re terrible for your kids and the environment. Pre-packaged stuff is often so full of sugar, salt, chemicals and preservatives. I promise that zero waste lunches will be healthier for your kids and the planet!

Sometimes life gets busy and you’ll take short cuts and a package of fishy crackers ends up in your kid’s lunch. No judgement here. It has happened to me more than once; I call it survival.

Hopefully the tips below will get us to the point where we will no longer need another pre packaged snack. Along the way I have had to remind myself to not let “perfect get in the way of good” and found that it helps.

What’s a Zero Waste Lunch

Before we dig deeper into lunch kits let’s wrap our heads around what a zero waste lunch looks like. For me, It’s a lunch without packaging, plastic baggies, single use cutlery, paper napkins, apple sauce cups, yoghurt tubes… You know, a lunch that doesn’t create more waste.

When my kid’s are finished lunch they shouldn’t need a recycling bin or a trash can, just a compost bin for some scraps. Luckily enough, our local schools have a composting program. Maybe your kids will have to bring their scraps home for composting.

Consider the packaging the food comes in from the store and how it’s shipped and handled before that. That’s beyond the scope of this post, but if you’re looking into a zero waste lunch kit your probably already thinking of that. We strive to eliminate packaging early in the supply chain as well. We buy in bulk where we can, use reusable bags and containers for grocery shopping, and generally cook from scratch as much as we can. Our goal is to do our best without feeling overwhelmed. We know that every little bit helps.

Everything you need for a Zero Waste Back-to-School Lunch Kit

If you’re ready for giving this a try, first and foremost, use what you already have. If what you already have isn’t working for you, pass it on to someone who needs it. Zero waste isn’t about just buying more stuff.

Lunch Container/Boxes

We use a few different styles and brands for our kids depending on what’s for lunch. We use different sizes and different divider options. When we opted for stainless steel ones, we were certainly sticker shocked at the first glance. They certainly are pricey but when you think about it, they will last a lifetime. We try to avoid plastic as much as possible, but we keep using a few good ones that we have had for years. One daughter likes the PlanetBox lunchbox and I like it because it’s easy to clean. Personally, I am not a huge fan of cleaning all the little individual containers. My other daughter likes her LunchBot bento box. The EcoLunchBox also gets used quite often. Where we had a hard time with the price tag, we’ve already seen how much use we’ve gotten out of them in the last 7 years and they still work like a charm.

Water bottles

It sure seems like hydration is talked about more and more these days, I don’t remember having a bottle at school. I do remember using water fountains and any backyard hose while we were on the move playing outside. These days, different kids like different styles of water bottles. Some like open mouth bottles, while others like lids with a built in straw. Try to choose timeless designs as kids grow out of kiddy patterns pretty quick. My girls like their Hydroflask and a Thermos one with a built in replaceable silicone straw. Check out a previous post about water bottles for ideas. It was written with adults in mind, but can give good list of quality bottles.

Snack Bags and Beeswax Wrap

If you or your family are crafty, you can certainly make your own snack bags and beeswax wrap. My daughter and her friend sewed a bunch themselves with up-cycled material and sold them at a holiday market. They were pretty exited about running their business and making their own money. Not into making your own? No worries as there are lots available for purchase out there. Check out your local kitchen store or even online. The snack bags and wrap are generally better for dry food, but can work for some juicer fruit if they’re lined. Zippers tend to work better than velcro in my experience. They’re easier to clean and have fewer spills. Check out any durable material ones and even silicone Stasher bags. As for Beeswax wrap, I like the Abeego brand.

Thermos

Maybe your kids have access to a microwave at school, maybe they don’t. They have been off limits for my kids since the start of COVID, but I think the teachers just don’t like cleaning them. Either way, the thermos is great for sending any sort of hot food. They also come in handy for bringing home leftovers from school lunch programs. You paid for it, there is no point in them throwing out what they don’t feel like finishing at school! Thermos and U-Konserve have lots of options.

Utensils

Good quality reusable utensils are easy to come by. Send them with what you use daily at home, as long as they aren’t too precious. If you don’t want to risk loosing your home cutlery, just pick some up from your local thrift store. Camping utensils whether they are made out of metal or wood pack pretty small and are nice and light. The goal here is to avoid single use plastic.

Small Containers for Dip, Condiments and More

As I mentioned before, I prefer larger bento box style containers as they are easier to clean; somehow you often need small containers as well. Different sizes of small containers that have some sort of leak proof seal are great to have on hand. No one likes a leaky mess in their lunch. They aren’t cheap, but I like the stainless steel ones with a rubber seal and clips, they are made to last. Wether you’re packing them dip, apple sauce, yoghurt or anything else liquid you’ll want some quality small containers. PlanetBox, Swell, EcoLunchBox… make nice ones that are stainless with leak proof tops. If you live somewhere hot, you may need insulated containers or something that doesn’t warm up as much.

Cloth Napkins

The milk moustache might be a right of passage for kids, but spending all day with food on your face and sticky hands aren’t. Make your kids life easy by giving them a napkin. Most of us have some old ones at home or you can find some at the local thrift shop. Maybe you like sewing them out of old fabric you have kicking around, maybe it’s a family member that likes to sew. Be sure to have a few so that they’re always on hand. Laundry certainly doesn’t happen everyday at our house.

Lunch Box/Pack

Look for something durable, insulated and that has a design that they won’t outgrow. I recommend clean minimalist design to last through the years. They get tired of the unicorn print pretty quick. Another thing to consider is how your lunch containers will fit inside of it and if it will fit in their backpack. If they prefer carrying it separately, find one with a handle or shoulders strap. The extra features give them options, which they’ll appreciate when they want independence to make their own choice. Remember though that separate bags always increase the chance of it being left behind or lost.

In the End

I hope this post has helped you to get started. Reducing your waste packing school lunches can be super satisfying and really make a difference.

I still remember how proud my eldest daughter was when they learnt about “reducing the waste in your lunch” at school and she realized that we were already doing all of it. Before that, she only saw that we were packing healthier lunches than the other kids. It definitely got us some buy-in.

Kids often compare lunches, and if they’re looking at what treats everyone got which means sugary snacks. I’ve heard my kids complain sometimes that they don’t get enough treats. Reminding them of dentist visits and drilling seems to help, but not always…

Are you going to do all of this on the first try? Maybe you just stop buying granola bars or start using reusable snack bags instead of Ziplock baggies, then over time you can pick another low waste lunch kit tip. No one expects an overnight change; remember it’s a journey.

If I missed anything in the list of everything you need for a zero waste back-to-school lunch kit, please let me know. Feel free to drop a comment.

Happy back to school!

Please share on your socials or even better subscribe below for regular updates.

Thanks for reading,

Pat