Everyone who makes lunches—for themselves or their kids—knows what a hassle it is to make meals (every day!) that are well-rounded, healthy and most elusive of all…enjoyable to eat. Try as we may, time and creativity can be hard to come by in the midst of work, carpools, homework and other obligations.

Yet…the facts are in. School lunch is not something to be overlooked or undervalued. Among the many, many studies about school lunch, a recent paper out of U.C. Berkeley demonstrated that school districts serving healthier lunches had higher test scores. A direct correlation. If these districts can improve test scores by jacking up nutrition content, imagine what you can accomplish from your kitchen at home?

It All Starts With an Idea
As with most things in life, the first step is inspiration. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has put together some great tips for cleaning up your school lunches in terms of ingredients and sustainability (zero-waste lunch, anyone?).  Pinterest is a well-spring of innovative lunch items, as is this article on bento-box lunches,  and this one from Bon Appetit. 100 Days of Real Food has loads of ideas for real healthy lunches, made with real clean ingredients. Peruse the articles, then come in to Rising Tide to stock up for the first few weeks of school. We’ve got a whole lot of back to school snacks and more on sale in August; you may find your child’s favorite new treat amongst them.

Not yet sold? This article from the NY Times does a great job illustrating how far a few solid, healthy school meals can go in the life of an impoverished child.

Here are a few more back-to-school recipes to get you started:
Carrot Applesauce Muffins
Hummus Wrap 
Creamy (Vegan) Tomato Rice Soup (Thermos lunches are the bomb! Or try our Lifefactory glass storage containers…on sale this month!)
Peanut Butter Stuffed No-Bake Cookie Bites 

**Post and WIN!**
What’s YOUR favorite lunch to pack for work or school? Post it on our Instagram and you’ll WIN 2, 8oz reusable round storage containers from Preserve—perfect for all your on-the-go snacks. Just come in and show us your post…the containers are yours!