Hey stranger,

Practically Green is the best way to start living a healthier lifestyle. People like you are taking action every day. It’s easy and free to join!

Join Now!

Bring meals from home to work in reusable containers

Why This is Green

There are many great reasons to BYO meals to work. First up, the food. Who knows what sort of produce, meat, preservatives, and chemicals are in the corner deli’s turkey club or the coffee shop’s muffin. When you pack your own meals, you control the ingredients. If you’d like lunch to be local, organic, and free of hormones, antibiotics, pesticide residues, and trans fats, brown bagging it is healthiest for you, your farmers, and the earth we all share.

Speaking of brown bags, packing meals in reusable containers reduces waste. According to CleanAir.org, the U.S. population tosses out enough of them plus plastic cups, forks, and spoons every year to circle the equator 300 times. These one-use items clog our landfills. Many resources go into making takeout containers. Our food is in them for mere moments before we toss them. It’s a system that doesn’t make much common sense.

If you can’t commit to bringing your own food daily, try for a few times a week. Bonus: you'll save money.

Learn More

How To

Grocery shop and pack your lunch. If you eat breakfast or even dinner at your desk, try packing them, too. There are many waste-free reusable containers and wraps available in stores and online. Shop around. And don’t forget a cloth napkin and a reusable water bottle.

Ask your office manager to stock the kitchen with real plates, reusable utensils, and glasses.

When eating takeout, BYO reusable containers for the counter staff to use instead of their disposables.