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My son Cedar is the pickiest child alive… so when his school lunch box went by the wayside this summer, a feeling of dread grew inside of me knowing we’d have to find a new one. I picked out a bunch of eco-friendly lunch boxes ^[3], only to have Cedar snub them all ^[4]. Lately, he’s been using a bamboo lunch sack ^[4] for camp, and while it is eco-friendly, it’s also inappropriate for long-term use because it has no insulation. Then I heard about a new waste-free-lunch system – the Soup to Nuts Kit ^[5] from Citizenpip ^[6]. The Soup to Nuts kit ^[5] is an all inclusive, reusable, waste-free lunch kit that puts a stylish end to disposable lunch trash woes. Read on to learn what earth-loving Cedar and I thought of Citizenpip’s reusable lunch kits.

What’s included in the Soup to Nuts Kit ^[5]:

The Citizenpip Soup to Nuts kit ^[5] comes with an insulated lunch bag with a nametag and carabiner, so kids may easily attach their kit to their backpack. Also included are: an 18.5 oz stainless steel water bottle, a stainless steel insulated food jar, four BPA-free airtight food containers, one stainless steel fork + spoon set, and five 100% cloth cotton napkins. The lunch bag itself is currently available in three design styles – Yum, Eat, and Tasty ^[21]. I prefer the ‘Tasty’ bag shown above (adorable!)… but knowing Cedar’s taste, I opted for the less flashy ‘Eat’ bag instead.

Eco-friendly aspects of the Soup to Nuts Kit ^[5]:

• Cuts out lunch disposables entirely. Good news since Waste-free lunches ^[22] notes that the average school-age child generates 67 pounds of waste per school year if he/she eats a disposable lunch. That’s 18,760 pounds of lunch waste created each year at just one average-sized elementary school.
• There is no lead, BPA, PVC, or phthalates in any of the Soup to Nuts Kit ^[5]‘s components. Products are lab tested and exceed FDA and CPSIA standards.
• The insulated lunch bag is made of non-woven polypropylene with aluminum. Polyethylene is a plastic fabric, but is a somewhat greener choice for bags — being that you can (in most cases) find a recycling center ^[23] for it.
• The water bottle and insulated food jar are made of 304 food grade single wall stainless steel with polypropylene cap and silicone ^[24] gasket – all are completely non-toxic.
• The fork and spoon are made with 18/0 food grade stainless steel with high impact polystyrene plastic handles and this type of polystyrene is recyclable ^[25].
• The company gives money back to your school through their school program; meaning that when you use a special code at the website shop, Citizenpip will give a percentage of all sales attributed to this promotion code back to your school. To get more information and/or sign up for the Citizenpip@school program, email the company at schools@citizenpip.com ^[26].

What we loved:

• This is the ONLY lunch kit you need to pack an entirely waste-free lunch. There’s plenty of room within the bag and containers for an entire lunch and some snacks.
• Even when I packed the lunch bag full with all four food containers, the insulated food jar, and silverware, I could still fit a small icepack inside. Plus, the bag is insulated to begin with. Cedar’s cold food stayed chilly and the insulated container kept his warm food warm.
• The bag looked small but fit a lot as noted above. Depending on what I packed, there was still room for some extra treats tucked in our reusable snack baggies ^[27].
• The napkins are a great size. Good for use as a napkin or as an impromptu placemat.
• The containers held food in without the lids coming off, and the insulated container and water bottle didn’t leak. Trust me, I bounced them around a lot for good measure.
• Cedar said he’d use it! Overall he liked the design, with some minor issues (see below in cons).

What we didn’t love:

• Cedar did like the design, but not excessively. Citizenpip makes some really cute bags (I LOVE them) but none are stereotypically boy-friendly. Cedar is a total boy – dirt, cars, rocks and so on, thus pastels or bright colors are not his first choice. I talked to Citizenpip owner Christina about this and she told me, “I know what you mean – I have 3 boys – and they’re all definitely dudes. The younger two like the current designs – but my oldest uses the BYOB kit ^[28]. Next round, I plan on doing older/edgier (and more boyish) designs – but we wanted to start with something that could appeal to both genders (which is harder as the kids get older).“
• The cloth napkins aren’t organic cotton. Cedar, who is big on organics, even asked if they were, and I had to say no. It’d be an easy switch to substitute with non-chemical organic cotton.
• The water bottle is too small for an older kid. Cedar has a 27 oz Klean Kanteen ^[29] and he always drinks all the water in it before the school day is over. You can easily send an extra BPA free reusable water bottle ^[30] to school though.
• It’s noted that the lunch bag and fork + spoon set are made in Taiwan, and all other products are made in China, but there’s no disclaimer about work conditions on the Citizenpip ^[6] website (i.e. is it Fair Trade, ethical, etc.).

Overall Review:

Cedar was excited to show his friends his new Citizenpip lunch kit ^[5], which I took as a thumbs-up Cedar recommendation. In spite of the minor flaws noted above, I really like this lunch kit. I love the safety aspects (muck free) and am thrilled that Cedar will actually carry it because now my lunch box worries are over. Plus, this lunch kit is a huge value. No buying foil or plastic baggies which are an ongoing cost to you and the environment. I would absolutely recommend the Soup to Nuts Ki ^[5]t as a smart, waste-free lunch packing choice. NOTE: for easy packing of daily lunches, buy an extra set of the BPA free food containers ^[31] so you don’t have to rewash them daily.

+ Soup to Nuts Kit $55 ^[5]

+ Extra set of BPA free food containers $12 ^[31]

+ Citizenpip ^[6]

via Petite Planet ^[32]