Boomerang Lunch Program

As you may know, many schools in the county have adopted a Boomerang Lunch policy.  As our New Year’s Resolution in January, 2018 we have decided to implement a Boomerang lunch program at Meadowlane.  We believe that engaging students in small environmental initiatives can have a big impact.

A boomerang lunch is a lunch that has every piece of it returned back home at the end of the day.  No matter if it is leftover food, containers, recyclables or garbage, it all goes back. Yes, even the garbage.

School lunches are a major source of waste in Ontario the average student’s lunch generates a total of 30 kilograms of waste per school year, or an average of 8500 kilograms of waste per school per year.  (quoted from TRCA flyer)

Please prepare over the break by looking into reusable alternatives to plastic baggies and over packaged lunch items including juice boxes.  The dollar store has many reusable containers and has great deals.

 What to do:

  • Use reusable containers to pack snack and lunch items
  • Use a lunch bag with a wipe clean interior
  • Talk with your child about bringing home any food or garbage left over from his or her lunch

Benefits

  • Provides you with first-hand knowledge of the eating habits and preferences of your child. By carrying home the leftovers you can see what’s been eaten or not.
  • Reduces the amount of waste we create from school lunches
  • Encourages healthy and nutritious lunches (many pre-packaged lunch items contain significant amounts of sodium, sugar, preservatives and fat)
  • Creates awareness around recycling and encourages and promotes the use of reusable containers and discourages the use of disposable containers
  • Helps you, as a parent, reduce the cost of lunches (a waste-free lunch can cost as little as $2.50 per day, whereas a regular lunch containing pre-packaged items can cost $4.50 or more per day). 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.  We look forward to your continuing support and hope you will join hands with us in teaching our students to be environmentally responsible citizens.