Tag: lunch

Bringing Your Own Lunch to School or Work is Green

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Bringing your own lunch to school or work is green—good for you, good for the planet, and good for your wallet.

School Lunch

Author's Son's Thomas the Tank Engine Lunch Box and Basket with FruitOur kids took lunch to school, first in lunch boxes and then brown paper lunch bags. Lunches consisted of sandwiches, fruit, chips, and dessert. For a time, the kids took disposable drink boxes for lunch. I shudder to remember a brief dalliance with package intensive, minimal nutrient, prepackaged lunches.

Having your kids take lunch to school has several benefits:

  • You and your kids know what it is in the food your kids are eating for lunch.
  • Your kids have an opportunity to learn about food and how to make healthy choices.
  • Your kids learn responsibility by helping to make lunch or preparing their own.
  • Your kids have more time to eat, relax, and play during lunchtime.

My Work Lunches

Throughout my working life, my lunch habits have varied widely.

When my job entailed visiting client’s offices and job sites, I frequently drove through fast food restaurants and ate in my car while driving (I know that is a bad habit). Other times I would go out to lunch with coworkers and we would split the bill. Mexican and sushi were my favorite types of food.

I ate at my desk more often than I would like to admit. The best lunches were those I packed myself and ate with a few coworkers at a local park.

For the past several years, I have been working out of my home office so I eat lunch at home. Lunch menus consist of peanut butter or tuna salad sandwiches, salads, soups, or leftovers.

Eating Lunch Out at Work

Over your work lifetime, eating lunch out can really add up in more ways than one. Let us say you eat lunch out 3 days a week for 48 weeks a year over a period of 40 years (3 x 48 = 144 days per year X 40 years = 5,760 lunches out).

Money

For our example, we will assume a mix of different lunch venues with an average cost of $10.00 per meal. Over 40 years, eating lunch out would cost you $57,600. That does not include gas and wear and tear on your vehicle if you drive to lunch (or greenhouse gas emissions). Imagine what you could do with an extra $57,600.

Health

Scale with Tape Measure and FruitRestaurants put ingredients and additives in food to make it taste good and keep you coming back. Foods that seem healthy, like a salad, may turn out to have a whopping calorie count and high-fat content. Some restaurant meals contain more than an entire day’s worth of calories.

Waste

The restaurant industry produces a huge amount of food and packaging waste.

Fast food and fast casual restaurants often serve meals in single-use, throw away packaging that ends up in landfills or sometimes on the side of the road. If only 50% of the 5,760 lunches in our example were of this type, visualize the pile of packaging waste that would be created by 2,880:

  • Carry Out Bags
  • Sandwich, Burger, Salad Packages
  • Chips, Fries, Dessert Packages
  • Drink Cups, Lids, Straws or Stirrers
  • Napkins (how many people grab just one?)
  • Catsup, Soy Sauce, Sugar Packets (how many people take just one?)

Taking Your Lunch to Work

Taking your lunch to work has similar benefits to taking lunch to school as well as saving money and reducing waste. With a little effort, taking lunch to work can be easy, inexpensive, healthy, and green.

  • Author's Gott Lunch Tote and Basket with FruitTake your lunch in a reusable insulated bag or another carrier, with a cool pack if needed.
  • Use reusable containers, utensils, napkins, and cups or bottles.
  • Just say no to bottled water.
  • Skip prepackaged frozen or ready-to-eat meals.
  • Assemble lunch the night before and leave it in the fridge (this is especially helpful for non-morning people like me).
  • Get out of the office at lunch. Eat on an outdoor patio, take a walk to park, or run errands on foot.

I have read several articles and blog posts aimed at helping people add variety to their “boring” homemade lunches. Interestingly, some health experts say simplifying meal choices and even eating the same thing for one meal every day may help people eat healthier. This would certainly streamline the process of preparing your take-to-work lunch.

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