Summer vacations for school-aged children seem to get shorter every year. Gone are the days of the seemingly everlasting summer vacation. These days, kids are lucky to get two months max, then it is time to head back to school. With school start dates lingering around the corner, now is the time to start planning for plant-based lunch ideas and earth-friendly school supplies. This year you don’t have to do all the research on your own. The FARM Buzz is here to help along the way, that’s why we compiled these vegan-friendly lunchbox and school supply ideas.

Vegan- Friendly School Lunch Ideas

Raising vegan children can be a challenge when they are away from home. The school cafeteria does not always offer something that fits into a student’s dietary needs, so it falls to the parent (or the occasional responsible child) to pack a healthy, cruelty-free lunch. Here are a variety of plant-based recipes to add to your child’s school lunch box plan this year:

Vegan “BLT” Sandwich by Minimalist Baker

This six-ingredient recipe is sure to fill a hungry vegan belly. The “bacon” is made from eggplant. This sandwich is sure to satisfy when topped off with vegan aquafaba mayo or hummus.

Easy Vegan Macaroni Salad from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken

It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken’s creamy pasta salad recipe takes about 20 minutes to prepare and makes a delicious side dish. Parents can freeze the extra dressing portions later if the recipe makes too much. Then they can add the thawed dressing to freshly prepared pasta for a delicious addition to any meal.

Samosa Wraps by Vegan Richa

These flavorful wraps contain just the right amount of spiced Samosa potatoes and chickpea chutney. They are great for on-the-go eating. They take only about 25 minutes in total to prepare, so they are easy to pack for a school lunch when time is limited.

Vegan Buddha Bowl from Well and Full

This delicious vegan bowl recipe from Well and Full is filled with quinoa, chickpeas, and a vegan red pepper sauce, has received dozens of five-star reviews. It takes about 40 minutes total to prepare and cook.

One Bowl Vegan Banana Nut Muffins from Minimalist Baker

These delicious muffins from One Bowl are not only vegan but also gluten-free. This simplistic muffin recipe uses basic ingredients often found in most kitchens and is an excellent option for families on the go. Total prep and cook time run around 50 minutes.

Strength & Sunshine’s One-Pot Vegan Mac and Cheese

This one-pot Mac and cheese recipe is vegan, grain-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and easy to whip up quickly. It’s so delicious that nobody will guess it only took ten minutes to prepare.

Minimalist Baker’s Spicy Buffalo Chickpea Wraps

If you and your child love spicy food, this wrap will make a perfect lunch for you both. A quick sauté of the chickpeas lightly in hot sauce and garlic powder packs the perfect punch in this recipe. Of course, if spicy heat is not your thing, you can always scale back to a more traditional chickpea recipe.

It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken’s Vegan Egg Salad Sandwich

This vegan egg salad is even easier to make than the traditional recipe. Ten minutes and seven ingredients are all you need to make this delicious sandwich spread. It is also 100% cholesterol free.

Pitta Pizzas by Vegan Mammy

Everyone loves pizza, especially kids. And pizza is even better when it is vegan. This recipe from Vegan Mammy is simple and fast to make. It makes a delicious addition to any lunchbox.

Jamaican Jerk Jackfruit Wraps from Vegan Richa

These amazing burritos overflow with black beans, mango, cucumber, and hot shredded jerk jackfruit. The recipe is ideal for a wrap, salad, or bowl. With an initial prep time of 15 minutes followed by a cook time of 35 minutes, the total preparation time runs about 50 minutes.

Vegan-Friendly School Supplies

Back to school doesn’t mean giving up on being a compassionate consumer. Plenty of vegan-friendly versions of the items used in school daily are on the market. Here are a few to try.

Decomposition Book

The Decomposition Book notebook is similar to a standard composition book but made with 100% recycled and sustainable materials. The company prints each beautifully designed notebook with soy ink, a sustainable alternative to traditional ink. Look for the Under the Sea, Honeycomb, or Dinosaur designs, among others.

Reusable Cutlery from Minimal

The Winter 2018 Eco-Choice Award winner for Most Innovative Product, M in a Circle, Minimal Underneath’s reusable cutlery is a must for a compassionate, vegan-friendly lunchbox. Pair it with your favorite reusable lunchbox.

Bamboo 12-inch Ruler from Onyx and Green

A good ruler is a must-have for many of the classes taken in school. While many opt for plastic rulers, there are better options available for our environment. Try out a bamboo ruler for a more eco-friendly approach.

Recycled Rubber Erasers by Onyx and Green

Wipe away those pesky mistakes while also being kind to the environment. Onyx + Green makes these erasers from 100% recycled rubber.

Bic Recycled Click Pens

Bic manufactures these environmentally friendly click pens with 78% recycled plastic, and they package them in paperboard packaging made from 100% recycled materials.

Sprout World Plantable Pencils

Sprout World pencils are destined for better places than landfills. When they are too small to write with, owners can plant them in the ground. Each pencil contains seeds for flowers, herbs, or even a spruce tree.

Eco-friendly Earth Grown Crayons

These adorable crayons from Earth Grown come in dozens of shapes and sizes. They are made with all-natural soy and are 100% vegan. The larger shapes are ideal for little hands learning new things.

Roaring Spring Environotes Recycled Spiral Notebook

Roaring Spring’s Environotes writing paper is made with sustainable sugarcane fiber. Sugarcane paper saves over 60,000 acres of forest land yearly.

Samsill Earth’s Choice, 2” Durable D-Ring View Binder

Samsill Earth’s Choice makes its sustainable binders from recycled and plant-based plastics. They hold up to 475 sheets of paper, and the D-ring feature allows pages to lay flat for writing. Each binder also has two inside pockets for loose papers.

Brown Bag – Insulated Lunch Bag

Finally, what school day would be complete without a lunch bag to carry your delicious vegan lunch? This cute lunch bag from Brown Bag is a high-density polyethylene fiber paper fabric. The insulated bag is perfect for carrying your lunch each day.

What are your favorite vegan-friendly school supplies? Have you tried any of these recipes before? Let us know your top picks in the comments.