LunchBots vs. KidChow

[Bruce England]

Hello LunchBots:

I read about LunchBots in the last Bay Area Green (http://thedailynews.ca.newsmemory.com/special.php?pSetup=thedailynews_bag) and I'm very impressed with the development and realization of your products. I'd sure like to see LunchBots used widely in our schools (and elsewhere, of course). Using LunchBots, by design, requires home food preparation; but I'm starting to hear a lot about KidChow as an alternative school-lunch option provider, and, while this is a great enterprise dedicated to distributing and promoting healthy and organic food to kids, they still are implementing throw-away materials (even if they are biodegradable). I strongly believe that, above all else, we need to *reduce* the amount of single-use materials in our waste stream.

As one local example, a video produced by Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School students and included in a recent Palo Alto Community Environmental Action Partnership (CEAP) Green Takes Action program (http://pa-ceap.pbworks.com/CEAP-Media-Center-Series and http://blip.tv/play/AYGM_ROEuWE) highlights that KidChow materials go in the trash, not the recycling. It would have been nice if the video acknowledged that avoiding waste in the first place is noble and necessary. And one that is consistent with the school's environmental goals ("Hausner students have the opportunity to develop sustainability practices for our school community. The Hausner GHREEN Team (Gideon Hausner Environmental Education Network) is an informal committee of students, staff, and parents who work together to create and implement environmental programming at our school. Programs include recycling education, waste reduction, Earth Day, and more.")

I hope that you will be able to work increasingly with local schools, organizations, and businesses, and those outside of our region, to help promote and educate kids and adults about the importance of waste reduction, and how LunchBots products are available to help achieve waste reduction goals.

All the best,

Bruce England
328 Whisman Station Drive
Mountain View, CA  94043