Sure, summer is full of fun, sun, and vacations, but do you want to know my children’s actual favorite aspect of summer? Not having to pack their lunches every night! Yes, they pack their own lunches and yes, it only takes a few minutes but we all just hate it. Luckily, we have school lunch supply organization and a packing station in our kitchen that helps streamline and organize the process a little bit.
Packing School Lunches – Basic Requirements
First off, my kids pack their own lunches and they have since they’ve been in kindergarten. When they were very small I’d prep their sandwiches while they grabbed their snacks. I’d also prep snacks for them and package them up in bags so they were quick to grab.
See My Simple System for Lunches Here
We implemented rules about nutrition at that point and they still stick to those rules today.
My kids lunches must contain…
- Sandwich or main meal with protein
- Fruit
- Vegetable
- Dairy
Obviously they’d also pack a snack, but that wasn’t something I ever had to encourage.
We used this opportunity to discuss food groups and why they’re important. We also reviewed serving sizes and appropriate portions.
Kids would also fill up a water bottle for the day. These are their favorite water bottles.
Lunch Packing Routine
Now that my kids are older, I don’t make their sandwiches or prep snacks for them anymore. If they would like an apple sliced, they can do that themselves now. I do, however, make sure the fridge is stocked with fruits, vegetables, and dairy they will actually eat. I also ask them each time I food shop if they have any special requests.
Occasionally, I prepare a lunch food such as egg or tuna salad.
Every evening, while my husband and I do the majority of cleaning up after dinner, our three children pack their lunches. They sometimes take leftovers, other times they will pack sandwiches.
Since we have a lunch packing station and food organized for easy access, packing lunches takes less than 5 minutes (or it COULD if my kids wanted it to).
Lunch Packing Station Organization
Our lunch packing station is so important, I’ve dedicated an entire kitchen cabinet for it.
Our lunch packing station includes:
- Lunch boxes
- Reusable plastic bags
- Thermoses
- Water bottles
- Small containers for snacks and condiments
- Bento-type boxes (not used everyday)
Lunch Boxes
We have a lunch box for each member of the family, plus one extra in case someone forgets thier lunch box at school. Six lunch boxes in this cabinet is a tight fit so I condense them or nest them inside one another as much as possible.
Luckily my lunch box has a large opening so I can usually fit 2-3 lunch boxes inside it. My bag is no longer sold, but this lunch box is similar.
Water Bottles
Everyone in our family takes reusable water bottles to school and work everyday. While we have other water bottles, I keep those that we use daily down in this cabinet for easy grabbing. My children use Owala water bottles and I appreciate how easy they are to clean. Behind these, we have some Klean Kanteens.
I find that storing them in this bin allows easy access to the bottles. It also allows me to pull out the bin to access less accessible items behind it (our extra lunch box mentioned above).
Thermoses
Another lunch essential in our house are Thermoses. A few times a week I make enough dinner that my children take leftovers for their lunches. In the morning, we heat up the leftovers and store it in the Thermoses to keep it warm until lunch. This is an updated version of the Thermoses we have.
These Thermoses are at least 5 years old. I recommend purchasing plain Thermoses as opposed to character or branded Thermoses so they grow with children.
We have one Thermos per child, as the adults have access to microwaves at work.
Reusable Lunch Bags
While we aim to avoid plastic as much as possible, we do have reusable plastic bags for lunch foods. We use them for sandwiches, fruits, veggies, and snacks.
These bags can sometimes be a challenge to store, but I find standing them up in a small wire basket effective.
Other Containers
Finally, we have a section of this cabinet for other containers. The small containers are especially good for soft fruits such as strawberries or grapes that tend to get crushed in a lunch box.
We also have some even smaller containers that are often used for condiments such as salad dressings or ketchup.
Last, there are some “bento-type” boxes that my kids will occasionally use if they feel like it. They probably aren’t necessary but they’re fun.
If I was starting over, I would purchase these stainless steel containers with lids instead of plastic containers with lids because I am trying to eliminate as many microplastics as possible.
Utensils
The last two school lunch essentials on my list live outside my school lunch packing station.
First, we have utensils. I prefer my kids NOT take our everyday silverware to school because it often doesn’t come back. And I’ve already mentioned how I don’t love them eating with plastic…
When my grandmother was downsizing for a move, we asked for her extra silverware (she formerly hosted dozens of people for holidays and had a ton of silverware for this purpose). Since her silverware doesn’t match our set we keep it in the our silverware drawer, but in its own compartment.
Ice Packs
Can you guess where we store our ice packs? That’s right, in the freezer. They wouldn’t be very effective otherwise.
Lunch packs are added to lunch boxes in the morning before school.
Lunch Snacks & Treats
If you’re here looking for one of those pretty drawers that you open and find bins with perfect rows of snacks of all kinds… you’re going to be disappointed.
As you may have guessed by my dislike for plastic, I also don’t love pre-packaged snacks with tons of artificial ingredients. My children take one snack and one treat each day. They’re *supposed* to eat those snacks after they’ve eaten their healthy foods, but there’s only so much I can do…
I try and purchase pre-packaged snacks whose benefits outweigh their negatives.
Snacks we love:
- Trail Mix
- Nuts
- Peanut Butter Crackers
- Granola Bars
- Yogis (a current fave)
- Archer Beef Sticks
- Crackers
- Pretzels
- Protein Bars
- Belvitas
I aim to avoid food colorings and excess sugar as much as possible (so no fruit gummies).
As you can see, I remove the snacks from boxes and dump them into a bin or basket in the pantry. We also have larger bags of items like pretzels and kids package up their own.
They also take a treat, usually some kind of candy out of their Halloween/Easter candy stash. It’s amazing how long those stashes last when they only eat 1-2 pieces a day!
School Lunch Packing Station & Routine
So, that’s how we organize our school lunch packing station the routines we use to keep lunch preparation simple and effective.
I’d love to know more about what you do! Drop a comment below and let me know!
