Too Good To Go Blog6 tips and tricks to reduce lunch food waste this school year

With Canadian families settling into the new school year, it’s the perfect time to introduce new habits into the school lunch routine. This year, Canadians are concerned about rising food costs, with parents saying they expect to pay $312 a month on school lunches and snacks according to a recent Léger survey commissioned by Too Good To Go.

One way to save money this year is to reduce food waste in school lunches. On average, parents say 1/5 of the food they pack for lunch comes home uneaten each week, and 54% of parents throw those leftovers in the garbage. When added up, that represents a significant amount of money spent on good food that was never eaten.

There are a variety of struggles parents face when it comes to school lunch food waste. As reported in the survey, the top challenges parents shared were:

1. Finding the balance between nutrition and taste (48%)
2. Dealing with children who are picky eaters (47%)
3. Lacking inspiration for meal ideas (43%).

However, 80% of parents say they are having conversations with their children about food waste, which is an essential step to making progress. And that leads us to our first tip:

Include children packing lunches

Involving children in lunch preparation from a young age is crucial. Too Good To Go’s study found that parents preparing these lunches with their children report a smaller proportion of leftovers. When children have a say in what goes into their lunchbox, they often feel a sense of ownership over that food.

If your kids are old enough, handing them the role of making their lunch can help them feel independent and lead to less food waste.

Find creative ways to reuse lunches

When children bring home unfinished food, it’s often still good to eat. If your child was simply too full to finish everything, try adding it to their lunch for the next day, or maybe as a snack in the evening.

A leftover sandwich can be warmed up for dinner or for weekend lunch if it's Friday. You can also refresh chopped veggies by placing them in cold water for a few minutes to give them their crunch back!

Make lunch fun

Aesthetically pleasing foods are more likely to be eaten by children, especially at young ages. Cutting fruit and veggies into fun shapes and incorporating fun dips and bright colours can lead children to complete more of their food.

Stock up on non-perishable food

Among Canadian parents who face leftovers every week, 42% throw them away because the food is perishable (cheese, yoghurt, meat, etc.). Packing more non-perishable products in the lunch box, such as crackers, dried fruits and granola bars can help reduce waste and save money.

Finally, for labelled products with best before dates, trust your senses using the “Look-Smell-Taste” test to decide whether food is still good to eat.

Use dinner from the night before

This is a great tip for saving time and money on your child's lunches. Make a little extra dinner and put it away in the fridge in a small tupperware for lunch the next day. Throw in a few small snacks and lunch is all set!

Make a weekly menu

With a bit of planning at the start of the week, you can set yourself for success on your child's lunch routine. You can even involve your children when creating a menu for the week. By making it a family activity, you build excitement and anticipation for the week’s lunch.

And finally, a bonus tip

With affordability being a central topic this back to school season, Too Good To Go can be an easy and effective way to save money on food this year. By saving one Surprise Bag of surplus food each week from food businesses like Metro, Longo's, or Eataly on the Too Good To Go app, families can effortlessly add fresh ingredients to school lunches while treating kids to a little surprise. It's also an easy way to support local businesses and help the planet.