Green initiative in the lunchroom?

[SASM]

Our first PTO meeting is coming up on Monday. I am already addressing car and seatbelt safety (a HUGE issue last year for me) and figured why not approach the idea of implementing a green lunchroom, as it is obviously an important lesson to teach at a young age and where better than at their school. I found out that Capri Sun and a few other food companies have a package recycling program so I am going to look into this: http://brands.kraftfoods.com/caprisun/be-green-earn-green.aspx (http://brands.kraftfoods.com/caprisun/be-green-earn-green.aspx)

Last year, I had lunch with DS about once a month and noticed that the majority of the kids bought a school lunch but a fair amount still brought from home. There are no recycling bins in the lunchroom and EVERYTHING goes in the trash. I would like come prepared to the PTO meeting with a list of simple, cheap steps that parents can do from home and what kids can do in the lunchroom. "CHEAP" is an important word here as A LOT of the families around here do not have the expendable cash for fancy Sigg bottles, etc.

Off the top of my head, this is what I have so far:

- If they can afford to, try to bring lunch from home. School lunches are sooooo reasonably priced here but the school doesn't have a recycling program and there is A LOT of waste (obviously something to address to the school disctrict but I am sooo certain that they do not have the money for reusable plates, cups, flatware, etc).

- Have a recycling program implemented for water bottles, soda cans, recyclable packaging such as Capri Sun, etc (I would take care of sending these to the company), and #1 and 2 plastics.

- To reduce the amount of plastic bags and plastic wrap, use cheap reusable plastic containers like Glad or generic.

- To reduce the amount of paper from napkins, send in a washcloth or cloth napkin.

- As I am sure that families do have at least one of these in their home, reuse a 16-oz plastic water or soda bottle for water, juice, milk, etc.

Can you suggest any other cheap and easily implemented ideas? Has anyone tried spearheading such a program at their school? If so, any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance! :) Wish me luck!

[egoldber]

reuse a 16-oz plastic water or soda bottle for water, juice, milk, etc

Just pointing out that these don't fit in a standard lunch box that most kids use. Also re-using these bottles is not recommended as they tend to leach with re-use.

I use the Rubbermaid Litterless juice boxes for my kids and they work better than anything else I have found AND they are a good shape/size to go into a lunch box. They are hard to find, so you could take orders/money and then have a group order.

Good luck with this. There is so much waste at Sarah's school it makes me ill, but these efforts are often met with GREAT resistance. There are a lot of Capri Sun/100 calorie snack packs/lunchables in the lunches I see at Sarah's school.

ETA: And it isn't the price of the lunch that is a big issue for many parents, it's the time and energy to pack a lunch every day. With 2 WOHM parents, it gets very draining. I *live* for Fridays, the day I have to pack no lunch because Sarah and Amy both get a lunch at school.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Our lunchroom has made the same efforts you have listed.

-Kids are encouraged to bring in reusable silverware and napkins.
-Reusable containers vs baggies or plasticwrap
-We offer theTerracycle too and they collect Nabisco cookie wrappers, Energy Bar wrappers, Kashi bags and boxes, Capri Sun, Honest Kids, Kool Aid Jammers, Bear Naked granola bags and corks. Kids do a great job participating in that program.
-They had the kids tally up how much trash their class was accumulating and tried to reduce that number. When you get the kids really involved it often helps.

I am with Beth, I wouldn't encourage reusing #1 plastic. It's not advised. Just suggest a reusable drink container and suggest stainless steel or #5 reusable plastic. I used to just send in a cup with ds1 and he'd fill it at the water fountain.

Beth

[Melbel]

Our school uses large trash cans to recycle water bottles. We also use cans to collect water for plants.

[kayte]

Laptop Lunch has a school fundraiser program--- if you sell the boxes the school gets a cut of each one. That's win-win for a PTA program.

[Nooknookmom]

Good luck on the green, our elementary was recycling but not carseat using. Ugh! I tried w/out much avail, to get the school to use seats on school sponsored trips that required use of the district van. Yeah, right. I put together a beautiful package and everything. Most of us Mom's refused to let our kids ride, and took them outselves.

Kudos to you for trying!!!

[Georgia]

- If they can afford to, try to bring lunch from home. School lunches are sooooo reasonably priced here but the school doesn't have a recycling program and there is A LOT of waste (obviously something to address to the school disctrict but I am sooo certain that they do not have the money for reusable plates, cups, flatware, etc).


I'd skip this one all together. I think it will cause you to lose a big chunk of your audience right off the bat. As someone mentioned above the convenience factor of buying lunch is huge for working families, and if the economic situation in your district is as you describe you're likely to have a large number of free/subsidized lunch families also.

I'd start simpler, or maybe motivate parents to apply pressure on the district for more green practices in the school lunch program.

[cdlamis]

NAK but I wanted to chime in real quick.

Waste free (and healthy) lunches are a passion of mine! This website provides good basic starter info and resources to start a waste free lunch campaign in your own school.
www.wastefreelunches.org

Really, packing food in reusable containers is not more $ than buying school lunches. It's the convenient, single packaged foods (think apple slices in baggies, applesauce containers, juice boxes) that are so expensive. If parents buy these same items in large containers (ex: tubs of yogurt instead of gogurts), they will be saving $.

Encourage parents to start small. The first week, start by eliminating the juice box and packing a reusable water bottle filled with juice or water. The next week, start eliminating the plastic baggies and use the plastic containers that people already have at home- even empty yogurt cups. There are much better alternatives like the Wrapnmat or stainless steel lunch containers but they are costly at first and may be a hard sell with these parents.

Good luck!

[Jen841]

My Dad does big brother big sisters and his little brother LOVES the school lunches b/c it is the most well rounded meal he has a day and it is free to his family.

I suggest something each month. Don't overwhelm people, or yourself. Let the kids see their success and want to do more. For a fundraiser look at green options - water bottles, terracycle items, lunch boxes/bags, reusable wraps,... for some items maybe talented parents could make them : )

Encourage teachers and the admin to gift kids with 'green' gifts vs. throw away items. i.e., Rubbermail Litterfree juice bottles, ...

[egoldber]

I suggest something each month. Don't overwhelm people, or yourself.

That's a really good idea. Maybe make it a year long project, with a suggested activity/info provided each month.

Another thought is to try to find a way to get the school to reduce paper waste. It makes me sick the amount of stuff I throw away that comes home from school every year!

[Globetrotter]

We do the Laptop lunches here, so I am totally with you on that issue!!

Given the situation in your school, I would say to go one step at a time. They can get cheap #5 plastic bottles and use containers they already have at home, like you said.

Maybe give monthly pointers, like how it's cheaper to buy one big container and divvy up portions, vs. buying individual sized snacks. Pack lunches at night for a smoother morning routine. As long as you pose it as empathetic suggestions or ways to save money and not as criticism, you should be okay.

For school lunches, do they at least use regular paper vs. waxed paper, plastic and styrofoam? (can't stand that stuff!) At least paper is biodegradable.

I don't know how much it costs schools to get the truly green utensils and plates, etc.. in bulk for the school lunches. I assume it's a lot more, but maybe not? I just buy a few from Whole Foods, and I'm slowly trying to switch over to those when we must use paper plates (picnics, large parties). In these economic times, it will be a hard sell.

As for recycling, that's really up to the school to set up some bins, if you're ready to take it on.

As an aside, our school is eliminating the paper newsletters - everything is going online! We live in a high tech area, but I think it's going to be a transition for some families where the mom isn't internet savvy (like recent immigrants, for example).

[egoldber]

everything is going online! We live in a high tech area

They have talked about this at PTA meetings, but the admins said about 20% of the kids at our school do not have access to a computer at home.

[MoJo]

Recycling seems the easiest to get everyone, especially the kids, on board with, if you're willing to do the collection. They feel good about doing something good that really isn't hard.

I also liked suggesting the gift of items that would help parents & kids be more green. Teachers do buy rewards and gifts, and that's an excellent idea! (DH is a teacher)

It's OT, but I just learned that the kids at a friend's elementary aren't given the opportunity to wash their hands before they eat lunch! And they aren't allowed hand sanitizer either. With the H1N1 on top of the usual sicknesses that go through the schools every year, I'd check to make sure the kids get the opportunity to wash their hands. I never would have thought to check if she hadn't said something.

[SASM]

Thank you for the responses and suggestions!! I am typing up something to present to the PTO this week. I love to idea of introducing steps slowly. Hopefully, we can incorporate them into the school calendar that it already printed out and distributed monthly to all of the students.

THANK YOU!!

ETA: I am not "knocking" school lunches. I am not a huge fan of the school lunch in my school district b/c they are not exactly healthy (loaded with fat & HFCS...but that is a whole other story) and completely throwaway (mainly plastic wraps, bags, and utensils with styrofoam, and the occasional aluminum foil). However, like I mentioned before, it is an affordable option for a lot of families in my district at $1.25 or free...and, very importantly, a stable meal for the kids. If we try to go green with the packaging/utensils it'll most likely drive up the price, which isn't as option. That is why I'd like to try to work on the people who already bring their lunches, and possibly give some quick cheap examples of HEALTHY lunches that can be brought from home and take little time to prepare.

[thomma]

I don't think our PTO could tell the parents not to buy school lunch without getting a backlash from the district/administration.

We have a composting program and a school garden. Our garden is almost 5 years old and we've been composting for 3 years. Both are a lot of work and if not for the efforts of a few town volunteers (who don't have school aged children), they wouldn't exist. Most parents think they're great ideas but won't/don't volunteer their time.


Kim
ds&dd-6!