The Family Groove | Out of the Box | Sustainable, BPA-Free, No-Waste Lunch Gear

OUT OF THE BOX
JUNIOR DOES NOT HAVE A BRAND-NEW BAG—HES GOT A SUSTAINABLE, BPA-FREE,
NEWFANGLED, NO-WASTE LUNCH-SYSTEM-TYPE THINGY

According to www.wastefreelunches.org, an enviro-smart lunch costs about $2.65, relative to the
disposable lunch that costs around $4.02—not to mention the toll it takes on our dear Mother Earth.

When I was a schoolgirl, everyone had the classic plastic lunch box with a handle and a big sticker
on the front depicting a favorite television character. You can still buy this kind of lunch box, but
they're not very durable, they may contain lead and there are so many other better options. New
lunch boxes hit the shelves several times a year, with each new design taking a step up on the
functionality ladder while stepping down its carbon footprint. Safety helms the lunch gear focus of late
with lead-free, nontoxic, Bisphenol A (BPA)-free and PVC-free options taking center lunch table—the cool kids one, of course.

Indeed it is time to ditch the old, quick-to-smell, eco-foe lunch box of yore and your less than sustainable sandwich-packing ways and go waste-free. So here's what you need to ensure that your kids do lunch minus the menace, kid-tested by my 4-year-old and mother approved—well, for the most part, I approved. Read on.

Fleurville Lunch Pak
This soft pack is both lead- and PVC-free. Score one for safety. Its lightweight, insulated and has a built-in beverage sleeve to hold a water bottle. Its worn as a backpack (read: its pretty big), but it can also be carried via a padded handle. Plus there's a project pocket for your budding Picasso's artwork. If only it came with something to do with all that artwork once it comes home.
($32, www.littlebutterflykiss.com)

Laptop Lunches
These were the “it” lunch boxes of back-to-school 2008. Yes, the notion of “it” has penetrated the lunchroom. Deal with “it.” Sold at Whole Foods, the bastion of eco-chic trend setting, everyone was espousing the virtues of these phthalate-free, BPA-free, lead-free and waste-free lunch solutions. Think American-style bento boxes—there is a large outer box that holds four inner boxes, two small and two large. You can purchase an additional tiny inner box for sauces and dips. Fancy! The advantage of Laptop Lunches is that you can take out one section to be heated. The containers are microwave and dishwasher safe. (Note that the lids are not.) You can also buy a separate carrying case that is insulated and holds both the lunch box and a water bottle.
($37.99, www.laptoplunches.com)

Thermapod
I was really excited about this lunch box—there's just one piece to wash. Like its Mother Earthfriendly friends, its free and safe (BPA-free and microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe). It seemed perfect. Seemed was the operative word. Unfortunately, when we tried it, we found that the seal did not work as well as it should have: The juice from my daughters sliced tomatoes leaked out. Another drawback is that since there aren't individual sections, you can’t heat just one part of the meal. This wasn't a big concern since most of the lunches I send are to be eaten cold. But it wasn't all for naught. In fact, I think its a great option for an adult, but for my 4-year-old, the Thermapod was too heavy, too big and too difficult to open. Thermapod is improving the seal and will be coming out with a minipod for fall 2009—now that could definitely work for my family.
($44.99, www.grassrootsstore.com)

Kids Konserve Waste-Free Lunch Kit
What the Laptop Lunches box lacks in style, the Kids Konserve Waste-Free Lunch Kit definitely makes up for. Its kute, uh, I mean, cute, but it falls a bit short. The kit comes komplete (sorry, I'll stop that) with a cloth napkin, a food kozy, two stainless steel containers, a water bottle and a matching cotton sack. The sack has a label inside for your child’s name and phone number (I prefer to put my e-mail address here) as well as an outer recycled aluminum name tag.

The BPA-free food kozy, made of FDA-approved nontoxic, non-leaching, recyclable PE plastic, is a great alternative to plastic wrap or bags. That's the good part. The quality is the not-as-good part: The kozy in my kit arrived showing signs of the Velcro ripping from the mat—and it hadn't even been used yet. I am testing it out now to see how it wears, as the holes may just be part of the stitching. The water bottle is also cute, but not of a high quality, so its very difficult to screw and unscrew the top, and the inside of the bottle is a bit sharp. The company is aware of this snafu and is working to ensure better quality. If you already have a kit, I would recommend replacing their bottle with a SIGG or a slightly higher-quality reusable bottle. The two food containers, on the other hand, seem quite well made, and the lids fit securely on. When filled with water and left on their side overnight, they didn’t leak at all. If you serve primarily cold lunches, this is not a bad kit. If you want to reheat anything, you would have to use another container.
($40, www.kidskonserve.com)

Don't need a whole new box just yet but still want to go waste-free? Check out these reusable wraps, bags and bottles. Oh my!

snackTAXI
The best bags I have found are from snackTAXI. They're very well designed (they fold over in such a way that small snacks like cereal or crackers don't fall out the top) and durable. Available in two sizes, one for snacks and little sandwiches and one for adult-sized sandwiches, they're dishwasher safe and very affordable.
($6.95 for the snack-sack and $8.95 for the sandwich-sack, www.snacktaxi.com)

Wrap-n-Mat
I tend to use the Wrap-n-Mat for my daughter’s sandwiches because they are a bit neater and hold the sandwich together better. She often prefers turkey rolled up without any bread, and I can wrap this spartan request in the Wrap-n-Mat without much effort or issue. Safe for dishwashers and washing machines, they're manufactured under fair-trade conditions in China and America (the USA-made ones are more than a dollar extra), and the liner is BPA-free, lead-free and phthalate-free. Note: The site is a bit wonky but don't let it dissuade you.
(From $6.50, www.wrap-n-mat.com)

Klean Kanteen
This better bottle is non-leaching, toxin-free and BPA-free. It has no inner lining, so it maintains a clean taste. Its also lightweight and 100 percent recyclable. We use the Klean Kanteen with either a BPA-free sippy cup top or a sports top, but the sports top can be a bit tricky to close and will leak.
(From $14.95, www.kleankanteen.com)

SIGG
These bottles are everywhere nowadays. And for good reason: They're high quality, sleek and chic. In designs from the classic silver to sport models and even limited-edition kits, SIGG bottles do lifestyle quite well. We only use them for water, though, because they have to be washed by hand.
(From $7.99, www.mysigg.com)

Once you outfit your child with his new BPA-free, lead-free, nontoxic, waste-free lunch box 2.0, all you have to do is figure out what’s for lunch—but that's a whole other story. Stay tuned.

—Leah Klein

Leah Klein is mom to Henry and Isabelle. She packs lunches, manages to cook up an assortment of weekly family meals and provides tips on cooking for the family without going insane or broke. She is the Boston Family Foodie on www.examiner.com.