Wouldn’t you rather pay less for meals at your favorite restaurants while not wasting food? The current way of thinking about kids’ meals is, well, childish. However, choosing kids’ meals could be better for your health, wallet and the environment.
Not putting an age restriction on kids’ meals, or even just offering smaller meals, would benefit many people. For some, eating less could help with a slowing metabolism as they age. For others, eating smaller portions is a personal health choice. But as adults, we are generally only offered one meal size. This creates a situation where the waiter brings out a large plate of food, and one frantically wonders whether they can eat all the food brought to them! No one wants to waste their hard-earned money on uneaten food. This makes it harder to reduce over-eating, which many Americans are susceptible to. But, what if there is a simpler option that does not create the need to stuff yourself full? Restaurants could offer smaller portioned meals or allow adults to choose a meal from a kids’ menu if they know that is the size they prefer to eat.
When you look at it from a financial standpoint, why should someone have to pay 20 dollars for a meal when they know they will only eat half of their food? Shouldn’t you be able to pay 10 dollars for a half-sized meal?
Now, at this point, you probably recognize that you don’t need to waste food or over-eat. You can just get a to-go box. However, you may come across situations where you don’t have access to a way for keeping your food fresh, like when you are on a road trip across America or living in a college dorm with a roommate who ordered their fridge too late. Other times, the food just doesn’t heat up well the second time, making it far less tasty. Maybe you take the uneaten food home, and two weeks pass without you ever thinking about it. Later you recognize that the food has gone bad and you have wasted your money and your food.
Another benefit of reducing the need for to-go boxes by offering smaller portion sizes is that it will reduce the amount of waste in our environment. While some to-go boxes can be recycled, other styrofoam-style boxes go into landfills, creating more waste and potentially damaging the environment. Even some recyclable to-go boxes won’t end up being recycled if there is too much food residue on them.
In conclusion, this small amendment to kids’ meal rules would not take away the option of regular-size meals from most adults. Instead, it would allow more people the opportunity to choose what is best for their health, wallet and environment.
