A few tips to reduce waste while keeping your little students well fed!
Back to school means back to school lunches - hooray! The suggestions below will not only help you to minimise food waste but will support your primary goal of keeping your kids eating well and healthily.
Good quality reusable containers are key, as if the sandwiches are soggy, no one is eating them! My main lunch boxes are from IKEA and are a good size but I love these little stainless steel containers I got recently in Reuzi.ie (www.reuzi.ie), as they are easy for the kids to open and close. I use them for cheese, hummus, raspberries, etc.
Stainless steel water bottles are also a great investment and the double walled insulated ones are even better as they keep the water really cool and refreshing to drink. In the colder months they can be used for soup or other hot drinks. They are pricey however, so make sure to put your child's name on them! If you have any doubts about the value of this - just taste water from a kid's plastic bottle - tepid with plastic flavouring - horrible!
I wrap crackers, rice cakes, etc. in eco friendly baking parchment (available in most supermarkets now) and washi tape (from Muji also available on Amazon and in art and hobby shops), which I can put in the compost afterwards.
Finally, a little time chatting with the kids to find out how long they have to eat and what they’d like to eat, really paid off for me. It turns out that they have very little time to eat, so the food has to be easy to get at and quick to eat!
For more tips, go to https://stopfoodwaste.ie/planning-shopping/do-your-homework-reduce-school-food-waste
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