September 1st, 2019

Dear Families and Students of the Jean Steckle community,

         We are very proud of the many initiatives that our Jean Steckle students have been making to become increasingly environmentally conscious and aware.  With world food security increasingly at risk due to unprecedented climate change, we all feel a need to do our part to minimize food waste and the way that we handle food waste.

We are very excited to be introducing the BOOMERANG LUNCH at Jean Steckle this year.  Many of you will already be familiar with this concept as several teachers have already been using it and it is now practiced in many schools across our board.  The concept of the boomerang lunch is simple: what comes to school gets eaten or goes home.   All waste from your child’s snacks/lunches will be returned home in their lunch bags. This includes all packaging, uneaten food, and leftovers. There will no longer be garbage cans for students to use in the classrooms at lunchtime. 

A Boomerang lunch provides you with first-hand knowledge of the eating habits and preferences of your child. By carrying home the leftovers you can see what has been 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 understand this may be asking you 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, but it can also result in healthier more nutritious snacks and lunches. Many pre-packaged foods contain significant amounts of salt, preservatives, sugar, and fat.

A waste-free lunch also means that the office and the teachers will no longer provide plastic utensils. Plastics can take over 400 years to decompose. We can all agree that using a plastic spoon for two minutes is not a fair practice for the environment. 

Please prepare by looking into reusable alternatives to plastic baggies and overly packaged lunch items including juice boxes.  Here are a few suggestions:

  • Use reusable containers to pack snack and lunch items
  • Use a lunch bag with a wipe-clean interior
  • Provide a reusable container to place all apple cores, banana peels, etc. into
  • Avoid processed foods such as pudding cups that are not only innutritious but also messy
  • Talk with your child about bringing home any food or garbage leftover from their lunch
  • Bring a reusable water bottle

We are excited to do our part in helping to create a more sustainable future for our students and children.

Thank you for your cooperation and support.

Respectfully,

The Jean Steckle Staff