โ† EDACK Books
Free game ยท Ages 8 to 11

Lunchbox Lean

Plan your lunches, waste less, and earn your Lunchbox Lean Hero certificate!

Master Taff: "Lunch that comes home uneaten is waste. Let's plan lunches you'll actually eat."

How to play

  1. Set the menu with a grown-up, and say what you can't have.
  2. Build your week on a Kanban board.
  3. After school, move each food to Eaten or Came home.
  4. Print your certificate for the fridge.
FREE certificate A sample Lunchbox Lean Hero certificate with a blank name line, signed by Master Taff
Finish the game and print your own 'Lunchbox Lean Hero!' certificate!

For grown-ups

Kanban in one minute

Kanban is a pull system, not a push system. You don't buy food in case it's wanted; you buy it because it was used. Here, an eaten card is the signal to buy more, so the shopping list builds itself from what actually got eaten.

Waste (muda)

What comes home is the waste. Measure it on the board, ask why it came home, and fix the biggest reason first. Then check again next week.

Food groups

The five colours are simplified from the NHS Eatwell Guide. The game only checks whether a week has something from each group. It doesn't count calories, label foods good or bad, or say anything about weight.

Allergies and intolerances

The "can't have" list is a family reminder, not medical advice. The game only matches foods on its own menu by name, so always check labels. The list stays on this device and disappears when you close the page.

Children eat what they've chosen. You set the menu, they choose from it, and the morning arguments get shorter.

Elements of Lean

Next: DMAIC, the Lean way to fix any problem