Packing an awesome lunch box for school can help make your child’s day better. One of our employees works part-time in an elementary school and has had lunch duty for several years. Here are some of her favorite tips she has learned.
Time is Short
Kids don’t get much time to eat. The faster they can sit down and open items, the better chance they have of eating what you packed.
Basics
Pack foods kids enjoy. Send a non-preferred food, and kids dump it in the trash and go hungry. Create “practice lunches” at home for a picnic or fun supper to make sure all foods are acceptable.
Easy Open
Waiting for an adult to assist with opening food takes time. Difficult packaging can cause embarrassing spills. Cut a small notch at the top of the packaging to make it easier to rip open. Rather than single-portion packages, consider a larger package and divide it up into reusable containers.
Include the Tools
Purchase dedicated plasticware. Including a plastic spoon/fork and a napkin saves time from having to get those items from the counter.
Include a Little Fun
Kids love notes from home. Print the note with age-appropriate wording so they can easily read it. A small dessert or candy can make a lunch extra special, and it most likely will be eaten first.
Compact and Useful
All containers should fit in the lunch box, except the water bottle. This makes it easy to store and carry at school. Include their name on or in the lunch box.
Fun Foods – Think outside the lunch box for full, happy tummies.
Consider packing:
Popcorn – sprinkle in a few chocolate chips or candies for fun
Veggie Sticks – easy to pack and crunch, add a small container of ranch for extra taste
Cereal – make a mix adding in pretzels or small crackers
Dried Fruit – mix it in or as a side. Fun, tasty, and adds some sweet flavor
Meat Slices/Cheese/Crackers – kids love stacking these up
Cold Pizza – an occasional slice of cold pizza (for younger kids, it can be cut into squares/triangles as a smaller finger food to fit in their box)
Sliced Hot Dogs – packed in a thermos are easy to eat and fun (include a small container of ketchup)
Wrapping it Up
Lunch is a key moment of the day because it is the time that kids fuel up. Making this a success helps them succeed. If you have the opportunity to help your child’s classmates, then everyone can succeed. When the whole class has fuel, they can work as a team. Things you can do to help
- Contact your school if you need food assistance or to see how you can help others to ensure kids have food security.
- Respect allergy warnings. Watching a classmate have a sever reaction to an allergen can be scary and being the kid with the allergy can be life-threatening.
- Ask your child direct questions about lunch. You don’t have to ask every day, but an occasional check-in asking if they enjoyed their food can alert you to issues.
- Include children in the process. Take time to have children help pick out food (provide them healthy choices) and teach them how to pack their lunch. This teaches a variety of useful life skills and helps parents.
Here’s a recipe for a tasty treat to tuck into those lunch boxes!
