After serving 3.6 million lunches so far this year — and 4.7 million during the last school year —Nova Scotia is testing out reusable packaging instead of single-use plastic in order to reduce waste.
The province announced Friday it is partnering with Canadian company Friendlier as part of a pilot program at 34 schools that serve 26,000 lunches a week. All of those schools have their lunches provided by Chartwells.
Friendlier was launched in 2019 by two chemical engineers who said they wanted “to create the biggest sustainability impact” possible.
The pilot program, beginning at the end of February, will have the company supply clean containers for lunches and then collect the used ones for professional cleaning. According to the province, the containers can be reused up to 100 times and will be recycled at the end of their lifecycle.
“By making reuse simple and accessible, Friendlier empowers students to eliminate daily packaging waste and build habits that last a lifetime,” company co-founder, Jacquie Hanton, said in a release.
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“This initiative marks an important step toward scaling reuse across Nova Scotia.”
As well, the province said it is introducing new lunches beginning immediately. The new dishes include pork and vegetarian egg roll bowls, chicken fingers and gluten-friendly cornbread.
Menus will also be tailored to whether the lunches are being prepared on-site or delivered to schools.
“For schools with lunch delivery, meals that transport well, like barbecued chicken drumsticks and glazed meatloaf, will be added. Some existing meals have also been adjusted to have sides that transport better, like whole apples and oranges,” the release stated.
“New menu items in schools where lunches are made on-site include grilled cheese with tomato soup, and pork quesadillas.”
The province noted it is investing about $80 million in the lunch program for the 2025-26 year. The program was initially only available for elementary school students, but expanded to include middle and junior high school grades this year.
The federal government’s National School Food Program is pitching in $12.4 million over three years.
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