Angela Wyant/Getty Images
READ MORE ABOUT:
So, packing a lunch is greener than take-out or hitting a restaurant every Monday-through-Friday, but brown-bagging it can get kind of tedious. If your office culture is one where power lunches rule the day, bringing your own meal can even feel kind of lonely and sad, instead of ethical and empowering the way that it should. Make eating green and bringing food from home more fun, more friendly, and more delicious by starting a green potluck lunch club with some like-minded co-workers. You'll get some quality social time into your day, help the planet, and reap the green rewards of packing your lunch without the boredom or the burden of having to get up in the morning and make yet another peanut butter sandwich.
Have a Potluck Lunch Schedule
If you have a small group, get every member to take a shift making and bringing lunch for everyone else once a week, or once a month, to share the work. If you have a lot of people, divvy up the responsibilities so that one person brings an entree, one person brings a side dish, a third brings dessert, and so on. It might be smart to keep the schedule online where everyone can easily check it, maybe using a google calendar or similar free service, or you can just send out a reminder email a few days before your lunch date, so that the chef-du-jour isn't caught by surprise.
Keep Reusable Lunch Dishes at Work
Make things even easier, and even greener, by pulling together a full set of real plates, cups, and forks for your lunch group that you can store at work, wash at work, and reuse for next time. For bonus points, tote some cloth napkins as well, which you can take home and throw into the laundry before your next club meet-up.
Keep Potluck Lunches Simple
While you might earn some admiration by showing up with an elaborate souffle, keeping the meals simple will make your potluck lunch club more fun than it is work. Grab a loaf of bread from a local bakery and make a big stack of sandwiches. Throw together a big pot of soup made from fresh, in-season local veggies, and reheat it in the office kitchenette. You don't have to get fancy, you just have to offer your friends and colleagues a nice, normal midday meal that's low on packaging and high on green.
A Small, Occasional Green Potluck Lunch is Better than None
Even if it's just you and one other friend, taking turns bringing each other's lunches will motivate you, be fun, and keep you thinking creatively about lunch without burning out. You don't need a big posse to bust your brown bag fatigue, just one or two allies who are happy to join you. You don't even need an ongoing commitment-just ask a friend "If I bring your lunch on Tuesday, will you bring mine next Tuesday?" every once in a while. It's fun, simple, and helps break up your regular routine. Plus, if you can get someone to brown bag with you who usually goes out for lunch or grabs some fast food, you'll be making a greater ecological difference by shrinking their footprint as well as yours! Every single time you or someone else packs sustainable food from home instead of going for packaging-heavy takeout, it's a good move for the planet.
Related Posts:
How to Go Green: At Work
Make a Potluck Party Contribution: Edamame Spread
Go Green, Live Rich: Brown Bag Your Lunch
Salivating over sustainable eats? Learn how to make your own with help from Emeril Lagasse in Planet Green TV's organic cooking show, Emeril Green.
-
- {}
