Do your homework on back-to-school waste

Dear sir - The EPA's Stop Food Waste Programme is encouraging all parents to do their homework when getting their children ready for back to school by asking parents to start the school year with a clean slate and rethink how to plan and prepare their children's lunches. The back to school period represents a very expensive time of the year for families, with research showing the average cost for a child entering primary school now stands at €400. With parents keen to keep costs down and find value-for-money lunchbox options, it can be annoying when left-over lunches arrive home at the bottom of school bags. Throwing away uneaten lunches is a waste of money but luckily the Stop Food Waste programme has put together some tips for parents on how to avoid food waste when it comes to school lunches, and save money in the process. Before you start planning your child's school lunches, the EPA is suggesting being more aware of what comes home in your child's lunchbox. We all want to ensure that our children eat a healthy and filling lunch, but they are out of our control at school, so it's important to keep an eye on what comes home in the child's lunchbox. Throwing away uneaten food is an unnecessary waste of money and can be avoided. Looking at leftover lunches is a great way to get information about your children's lunch preferences. Talk to your child and understand what works for them and what doesn't. Instead of binning uneaten lunches, try using the following tips: • Let your kids be part of the lunch planning process. This will ensure that what you prepare is something they like to eat. • Ask children how much time they have to eat their lunch, so as to avoid half-eaten sandwiches that children leave behind in favour of time in the playground. • Consider making a list of food your child likes to eat for lunch. This list can be kept on the fridge and can be added to by your child. • Small-sized fruit are a great idea as they cut back on waste and pose less of a challenge to small children and take less time to eat. • Instead of throwing away dinner leftovers, re-use them for lunches the next day. • Pack drinks in reusable containers and send a small amount to school in a reusable container with your child each day. • Finally, before offering your child an after school snack, check to see if they have finished their lunch. Yours, Odile Le Bollach, EPA Stop Food Waste Programme.