If there’s one totally random thing I miss about being a kid, it’s having someone pack you a lunch. Thankfully, my mom knew how to pack a pretty bad *ss one. I still remember the ‘yeah, my lunch rocks!’ joy that would rush over me when I’d crack into her Montreal bagel melts with each half tucked into its own round container. Okay, maybe the tuna in those melts was not pole caught (see my tuna guide), but having a lunchroom sandwich in “tupperware” was pretty novel in the 80s/90s, when nearly everything was disposable. Now there are so many amazing reusable supplies on the market, which is why it’s so great that the David Suzuki Foundation’s Queen of Green is asking bloggers nationwide to join her in chatting up all the fab green litterless lunch options on hand. It’s part I of Tovah’s Better Back to School Brigade, which is a brilliant way of getting this country fired up over green solutions, coast to coast.

In this week’s Ecoholic column in NOW Magazine (above), I rank 5 lunch supply staples, old and new, from the not-so-green (plastic baggies) to the uber eco (beeswax hemp wraps). There are so many more goodies out there we just didn’t have room for in print, so here are a couple bonus recommendations. Looking for something thermal? Kids Konserve/U-Konserve is a great indy alternative to mainstream Thermos. Though don’t worry, there’s nothing leaching out of your Thermos either, both brands are made of stainless steel. Looking for totally plastic-free lunch tins? Eco LunchBox offers top notch all stainless steel lunchboxes/ovals that are ideal for kids as well as adults. And for bigger kids (including the big kid in all of us) Onyx offers really well made two and three-layered stacked stainless steel tiffans as well as double walled airtight options to help keep the heat in. Want a basic organic cotton lunch bag that doesn’t have a waterproof liner? Here’s one that’s made in Canada for under $10 (right). If you prefer not to shop online, your local green store should be fully loaded with all kinds of waste-free lunch supplies right about now so definitely pay ’em a visit.

Oh but wait, there’s more. Also in the latest Ecoholic column, you’ll find our Greenwash of the Week (hint: it’s Canada’s own Organika supplements) and some startling Nature Notes on palm oil, new research on wind power complaints and the west-to-east pipeline. Chew on it over lunch. And if you’ve got a favourite waste-free product you think we should all hear about it, let us know. Gotta run. Belly’s rumbling and it’s time to dig out last night’s kale/quinoa pasta number. Fingers crossed I don’t bite into as much dirt in my kale as I did last night.

 

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