In every school from Pre-K to high school, time is set aside for students to eat lunch before finishing off the day. At Rocky, if you aren’t leaving to buy lunch at one of the nearby locations, you’re most likely waiting in line to get lunch made by the cafeteria staff or pulling pre-packed food from your backpack or locker. Each option has benefits, but I believe a home-packed lunch is better for taste, time management, and food specifications.
When you sit down for lunch each day, you’ll likely be in the mood for a particular type of food. Packed lunches are beneficial in this aspect because they allow you to pack food that caters to your specific tastes and if those tastes happen to change depending on the day, you’ll be in control of how your lunch changes. School lunches are not as flexible and won’t be as reliable on a day-to-day basis, because the meals are planned ahead of time and are posted on a calendar.
Homemade lunches are also beneficial in matters of time management. At Rocky, you have to wait in long lines to get your food, meaning that you’ll most likely use a lot of the lunch period to get your food rather than eat it. Whereas, if you make lunch at home the night before school or the morning of, you’ll be able to start eating sooner and avoid being hungry even after the period ends.
Packed lunches also provide additional safety options for students with certain food specifications. While Rocky does have accommodations such as vegetarian and gluten-free options for their students as well as methods to prevent allergic reactions which according to the PSD website, are handled case by case through the Child Nutrition Office, these specifications are more easily managed when you know what your lunch will contain from the moment it’s made. Lunches made at home can still contain the foods people like while also being vegan, gluten-free, and so on, whereas school lunches made with these specifications still have a menu that’s more or less set in stone.
There is some benefit to school-made lunches to consider, however. According to the PSD website, school lunches and breakfasts have been made free to students starting in the 2023-2024 school year. This allows students who don’t have homemade lunches to still get food in the mornings and at lunchtime.
Home-packed lunches have the potential to be easier. I encourage you to try them out; this option allows you to eat the food you enjoy more consistently as well as cater to your chosen food groups whether that excludes gluten, meat, or other things. Homemade food also allows you to take better advantage of your lunch period. Getting food to help keep your energy up for the rest of the day is important, and finding the best strategy for getting food you’ll enjoy is important too.
If you’re looking for lunch ideas to bring from home try this article.
