Packed lunches for kids, no lunchbox allowed.....ideas please!

[ImFree2doasiwant]

DC2 is not allowed to take a lunch box . The other one is. (Different schools).

DC2 doesn't like sandwiches, so usually takes a yumbox with a selection of The following - crackers/Bread sticks, carrot, cucumber, pepper, cheese, ham, pepperami, boiled egg, grapes, strawberries, rice cakes, flapjack, biscuit, malt loaf. Mayo or houmous.

Any suggestions on how to package this , without a lunchbox?

[Timeforabiscuit]

.... No lunchbox??? As in it all needs to be disposed in a plastic bag??

[HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime]

Buy some paper lunch box style bags from amazon, put their normal lunch in it then they can dispose of the lot. At least a paper bag is better than a plastic one for the environment.

[FinnyStory]

Is this a Covid rule which means everything has to be "disposable"? What/how does it protect?

All the work on single use plastics completely and utterly destroyed This might actually be a rare occasion when I'd question a school's policy.

You could put most of those things in a plastic bag and save e.g. hummus tubs, ice cream tubs, yogurt pots to put the other bits in?

[scrivette]

What a nuisance. The only thing I can think of is separate sandwich bags, but what a waste.

[SillyBub]

How about this kind of thing? greenpak.supplies/product/no-2-leak-proof-kraft-deli-box/?attribute_pa_sleeve=a4-fullcase&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-uH6BRDQARIsAI3I-UebxhtJe8KYfNOmUHgqyqDGPDc2nVtyU-HXADexdXKj_8D2fiLC3X8aAkZcEALw_wcB

[HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime]

Can they take a school bag if they're at secondary tell them to bin the paper bag but put any tupperware into their bag.

[Pedallleur]

Cardboard containers for takeaway food. Foil lids. £1.50 for 10 at home bargains

[user127819]

I don't really see how a child taking a plastic box to school and then taking it home again is a significant risk but anyway...

I would suggest individually wrapped things like Babybels, Pepperami, mini rolls, Mr Kipling slices, malt lunchbox loaves etc.
Fruits with a peel like oranges and bananas (depending on if he's old enough to peel them unassisted).
A boiled egg in the shell can go straight in a paper bag (again depending on if he can shell it)
Things like crackers and vegetables wrapped in foil.

[ImFree2doasiwant]

No Tupperware allowed, no school bag, no water/drinks bottles to be taken at all. Drinks in disposable cartons only.

He's at pre school, so can't shell an egg, and not great at opening packets. Good call on individual malt loaf bars etc.

I agree about the waste, it's just ridiculous. I'm making 2 sets of lunch, one going into school in a lunchbox, one going in a Ziploc bag. I'm readingbthe same potential germs on both. I'm picking the actual child up and taking him home, pre school too so if he's got any germs I'm be getting them from him, not his lunchbox!

[Akire]

Another stupid rule! Like you said if you had covid infected work tops at home then your plastic bag will be infected as much as a plastic box. Sounds like you need 2-3 plastic bags so keep wet/dry stuff apart.

I wouldn’t get foil tubs as sometimes the foil can be sharp when you have to lift up the edges. He could always just wrap it up in his jumper I suppose!

[BogRollBOGOF]

Soup in a paper bag. They'll soon learn to see sense about nonsensical, planet-ruining roolz.

Sorry, I'm past sensible tonight.

[ImFree2doasiwant]

No I'm.not keen on foil at all for him, it is sharp and he's not used to dealing with it. Cling film is tricky too! It's just bonkers. I'm going to ask what the reasoning is.

[shreddednips]

This is absolutely barking. You can get sort of stacks of individual houmous portions in Tesco etc that are disposable if you can picture what I mean? They also do single portion sized bags of mini breadsticks. Babybels maybe?

[Austereorange]

We had to do this.

I got brown paper handled bags from eBay. Very cheap and recyclable. I did do a sandwich (but you could put other things in, like a sausage roll, or rice cakes/crackers etc) and I put that in a grease proof paper bag with the top rolled over and a sticker to secure. I also sent a home made muffin or flapjack again in a greaseproof bag. They tend to be more airtight! And a packet of crisps/mini cheddars. Fruit and veg very lacking but I did a fruit snack when she got in plus fruit with breakfast and plenty of veg with supper to compensate.

Water bottles were provided by the school with labelled tops and bottles and were washed by them overnight. I don’t know why that’s different from a home bottle but there was a real push back from parent in disposing of single use drinks bottles every day and that was their solution.