Dallas Independent School District’s (Dallas ISD) food and child nutrition services department celebrated National Plastic-Free School Lunch Day at Billy Earl Dade Middle School on Wednesday. National Plastic-Free School Lunch Day was created in collaboration between the Urban School Food Alliance and Cafeteria Culture, a non-profit, in efforts to challenge school nutrition teams to prepare lunch without any plastic.
In honor of the day, Billy Earl Dade Middle School made changes to its menus, trays and cutlery. The changes included using tin foil to wrap sandwiches and using paper trays in place of plastic trays. The middle school also utilized biodegradable forks and plates and paper cups for water.
The menu included chicken salad sandwiches wrapped in foil, fresh bananas, steamed corn served on paper portion trays, and cheese and pepperoni pizzas served on paper trays.
While Dallas ISD has already implemented a number of environmentally friendly initiatives, such as using biodegradable and compostable trays and plates, the district says National Plastic-Free Lunch Day was a way to further its sustainability efforts.