What follows are resources to help you provide a healthier (toxin-free), zero-waste lunch for your child. If you’re just beginning this process, don’t get discouraged. Even by changing a few things you do, you are taking worthwhile steps. As Voltaire says, don’t allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good!

Specifically, you want to avoid the following:

1. Toxins

For the health of your family

• Lead. Lead affects the brain and behavior and is especially dangerous to young children still in early developmental stages. Read about lead in children’s lunch containers (http://www.ceh.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=54).
• BPA. Bisphenol A can affect brain development and contribute to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver-enzyme abnormalities. BPA is found in plastics coded 7, in 3- and 5-gallon water bottles, and in the lining of most tin cans. Read more (http://progressivekid.com/shop/BisphenolA.aspx).
• Phthalates. Phthalates may cause neurological and reproductive damage. They are often referred to by these abbreviations in product lists: DBP, DEP, DEHP, BzBP, and DMP. They are common in plastics with codes 3and 7. Read more (http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/phthalates-47020418).
• PVC. Polyvinyl chloride, or vinyl, releases dioxins when produced and/or burned. Dioxins can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems. It often includes phthalates. It cannot be effectively recycled. It is coded 3. Read more (http://www.besafenet.com/pvc/about.htm).

2. Waste

For the health of the planet

• Landfill and ocean waste. Try to avoid waste that can’t be composted or that is nonbiodegradable (i.e., plastic yogurt and soup containers, plastic bags, plastic spoons and forks, food wrapped in individual plastic wrap).
• Depleted natural resources. The production and disposal of plastic and paper packaging/products deplete natural resources such as forests, fossil fuels, water, undeveloped land, animal habitat, and farmland.
• Pollutants. Manufacturing processes and products containing toxins pollute our land, air, water, and home and school environments.

Reducing the toxins and waste in your children’s lunches does not have to be expensive. In fact, it can be less expensive over the long-term. Small investments in reusable sandwich wraps, food containers, and water bottles will reduce your long-term expenditures on things like baggies, paper napkins and paper bags, disposable bottles, and high-priced, overly packaged food. Look for opportunities to convert to reusable utensils, cloth napkins, glass jars with screw tops, and so on. When you purchase reusable lunch and beverage containers, make sure the products state that they are free of lead, BPA, Phthalates, and PVC. Have enough of them on hand.

This guide does not address the issue of organic vs. nonorganic food, but obviously food farmed with pesticides and insecticides and using unsustainable methods adds toxins to your child’s lunch and our global environment. So eat organic whenever you can and avoid highly processed food, which is heavily manufactured and tends to contain more contaminants, such as preservatives.

Reusable Water Bottles

There are now many eco-friendly and healthy beverage container options, many of them affordable. You can find these bottles all over, including at local stores. Here are the three most popular brands:

SIGG

• Aluminum with resin coating
• Leach-free
• Now BPA-free (was not always, but tests showed the bottles did not leach)
• Heavy

Kleen Kanteen

• Stainless Steel
• BPA-free
• May leach nickel (some people are allergic)
• Lighter than aluminum

CamelBak Better Bottles

• Plastic
• BPA-free
• Lightweight
• Nonbiodegradable (to find out why buying disposable plastic bottles of water is inadvisable, read this article)

Reusable Lunch Boxes/Bags and Food Containers

Here are some attractive, popular, customizable, reusable, lead-safe, phthalate-free, and BPA-free lunch totes with components for kids:

Laptop Lunches

• Soft box or bag style
• Bento-style food containers
• Plastic
• Customizable with napkins and beverage containers
• Lead-free
• Phthalate-free
• BPA-free

Citizenpip

• Soft box style
• Insulated
• Customizable with all the components you need for lunch including napkins, cutlery, beverage containers, and food containers
• Some plastic components
• Lead-free
• BPA-free
• PVC-free
• Phthalate-free

Kids Konserve

• Bag style
• Insulated
• Customizable with most of the components you need for lunch including napkins, beverage containers, and food containers.
• Stainless steel and cloth components
• Lead-free
• BPA-free
• PVC-free
• Phthalate-free

Lunchopolis

• Soft box style
• Nylon, aluminum, and cotton
• Come with plastic food and beverage containers
• BPA-free
• Lead safe
• Phthalate-free

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