School Information

Most lunch trash comes from disposable packaging of single serving food items, plastic bags and foil. It’s estimated that the average school age child using a disposable lunch produces 67 pounds of lunch waste per school year!

At Edith Monture that translates into nearly 3,000 large bags of garbage a year. This is a huge cost to the environment and to the school and through the Boomerang Program children will become aware of how disposable lunches impact our environment in a positive way. Using re-usable containers, Thermos bottles and bringing the right amount of food will let children know they can be part of the solution to our waste problems.

A Boomerang lunch provides you with the first hand knowledge of the eating habits and preferences of your child. By carrying home the leftovers you can see what your child has eaten or not. Teachers see a huge amount of uneaten food go into the garbage day after day. This is not only wasteful but expensive.

We know this is asking families to re-think food preparations and student actions but our hope is that informative discussions will take place and habits will change. Packing a waste free lunch not only helps the environment it can also result in healthier more nutritious snack/lunches.

Many pre-packaged foods contain significant amounts of salt, preservatives, sugar and fat. There is also a cost savings as lunches made of pre-packaged items can cost $4.50 or more while a waste-free lunch costs around $2.50.

• Use reusable lunch carriers. Remember to buy a large enough lunch bag to fit all the re-usable containers in.
• Use reusable containers. Please avoid plastic wrap, foil, wax paper and styrofoam. Remember to show your child how to put all uneaten food back into these containers and seal it carefully to avoid a yucky mess arriving home in the lunch bag.
• Use reusable drink bottles or thermos. Please avoid single-use juice boxes, pouches, cans and water bottles.
• Use a cloth napkin and wash and reuse. Please avoid paper napkins.
• Use silverware and wash and re-use. Please avoid plastic forks/knives.
• Buy fresh fruits and vegetables and cut them up so you can send the right amount and it’s quicker and easier for your child to eat.
• Get your children to help pack their snacks/lunches with healthy foods.
• Only pack as much food as your child will eat.
• Label all containers with an initial or special symbol so they have a better chance of coming home.
• Parents in the pilot program found that initially a little more time was needed to clean up the lunch bag each night but once students got used to packing the waste better and there was less waste because the right amount of food was sent it was not a big problem.
• Try to involve your child in this process so they become more aware of the healthy benefits to the environment and themselves!

Many thanks for your support of this important and exciting initiative! Together we can all make a difference.