Every year when the kids head back to school, I'm saddened that so many school districts feed children hot dogs, greasy pizza, and nachos for lunch.
How this has even become acceptable is the subject of a future email... but in the meantime, I want to remind you to do whatever you can to take control of the situation by packing your own lunches.
Every homemade lunch is another chance to avoid thousands of unnecessary food additives.
But don't go down the path of buying all those conveniently packaged "Back-to-School" snacks and drinks lining the grocery store shelves. They're just as unhealthy, maybe worse, than what they serve in many school cafeterias.
They're filled with the same additives I tell you to avoid like: BHT, TBHQ, artificial colors and loads of added sugar.
Even organic packaged foods can be extremely processed and unhealthy without any real nutrition.
And it took me years to think about the lunchbox itself.
Then I looked into it. A while back, an independent lab tested 20 popular back-to-school items. 75% came back high in phthalates, hormone-disrupting chemicals used to make vinyl soft. One Dora backpack tested at 16 times the phthalate limit set for children's toys. A Disney lunchbox was loaded with the same thing.
These chemicals are restricted in children's toys. Yet backpacks and lunchboxes have not been subject to the same phthalate limits.
Phthalates are linked to asthma, early puberty, and learning and behavior problems in kids. And they don't stay put. They off-gas into the air and leach onto hands and food.
So this year, don't just think about what goes inside the lunchbox. Think about the lunchbox itself.
The lunchbox
Soft vinyl lunch bags were the worst offenders in that study. Plastic containers bring their own problems, usually BPA or its cousins.
I use a stainless steel bento from ECOlunchbox. No plastic, no lining, nothing to leach into food. And it holds up, which is its own kind of proof.
The backpack
Skip anything shiny and plasticky, anything labeled vinyl, and anything with a recycling #3. That's usually PVC, which is where the phthalates live. Waterproof coatings are worth a second look too, since those often mean PFAS.
Choose natural fibers like cotton, canvas, or hemp, or plain nylon and polyester.
Hand cleaning
A lot of school supply lists still ask for hand sanitizer. Most of it is either drying alcohol gel or an antimicrobial that kills off good bacteria and feeds resistance. The CDC's own guidance is that plain soap and water is the better call.
Pack a Branch Basics mini foaming wash in each bag instead. Real soap, no synthetic fragrance, no harsh surfactants, small enough to clip in a front pocket. They can use it before lunch and you’re not sending an endocrine disruptor to school in a squeeze bottle.
When you’re packing lunches, here’s what to look for:
Bread: Skip conventional loaves, which carry glyphosate and a long additive list. I order from Organic Bread of Heaven, or Grindstone Bakery if your kid eats gluten-free. Grindstone is organic and one of the only gluten-free loaves I've found that holds together instead of crumbling.
Sandwiches: Deli meats often contain nitrates and ultra-processed ingredients, so choose organic and pasture-raised, or roast and slice your own. For PB&J, a nut butter that's just nuts and salt plus a fruit-sweetened jam skips the seed oils and added sugar in the usual versions.
Sides: This is where the seed oils and added sugar pile up. Instead of dyed yogurt tubes, pack plain whole-milk yogurt and add your own fruit. Instead of neon crackers and chips, go with an organic whole-food cracker, or cut veggies and hummus.
Drinks: Water beats every juice box and dye-colored sports drink on the shelf. For more hydration, I add Truvani Electrolytes, which the kids love with no added colors, fake flavors, or artificial sweeteners.
If you want the fastest single upgrade, make it the lunchbox. It's the one item that touches food every single day, and going from soft vinyl to stainless steel takes one purchase.
You don't have to change everything overnight. Start with one swap, then another. Before you know it, you've transformed your child's lunch and they’ll feel so much better for it!
Xo,
Vani
P.S. Code FOODBABE will get you an exclusive discount for ECOlunchbox, Branch Basics, Organic Bread of Heaven and Grindstone Bakery.
P.P.S. At Food Babe, we only promote products we love to use. If you buy a product we link to, we may earn a commission.
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