Waste Free Game Day Snacks

If you are a parent, you are probably familiar with the "game day snack" rotation whereby each week a parent is in charge of bringing a snack for the team on game day.  When I was recently attending my 7-year-old's softball game at the West LA Little League, I happened to peer inside one of the trash barrels to see water bottles (recyclable) and tons and tons of wrappers and packaging for game day snacks.  I said to myself, "there has to be a better way to bring a game day snack that doesn't result in waste."

I have seen parents in the past bring a big bowl of fruit that the kids can take a handful from for their snack.  I love this option because it's zero packaging and any food scraps are compostable.  Heck, leave them on the ground and let the squirrels and birds finish them off.  The only downside to that is it's not the most sanitary way to serve a snack.  Kids are walking germ factories and I am not exactly keen on letting them dive into a community bowl with their germy hands.  So, I was really challenged with coming up with a solution.

In the end, I did find a waste free solution, which you can see pictured here.  I opted for a reusable water bottle (filled with filtered tap water), a cutie and reusable snack container that contained a mix of assorted bulk bin items (some would call it "trail mix").  The team colors were red and white, so I even color coordinated the snack by including yogurt covered pretzels and dried cranberries in the mix.  It did result in me spending more than what most are willing to spend as the girls got to keep the reusable containers/bottles, but I chalked the expense up to marketing for the Zero Waste campaign.  To me, it's an investment.

The message on the bag stated the following:

"This is a Zero Waste snack, meaning everything inside is reusable, recyclable or compostable so that nothing needs to end up in a landfill!

Reuse: Beverage bottle, snack container

Recycle: Paper bag and tag (but, it is better to compost)

Compost (put in your green yard trimmings bin): this paper tag (including the glue), the brown paper bag, and cutie peel."

The only disappointment was that I had to leave the game early due to my daughter thinking she had thrown up (I already had 1 home sick), so I didn't get to see people's reactions or discuss with them.  However, my friend, who stepped in to cover and hand out the after game treats said they were met with positive reactions and discussion, which is a success in my mind.