Back to school: The easiest, healthiest packed lunches 

While school meals are always a healthy option, sometimes they’re not available: Field trips, class parties, food allergies, dietary restrictions, and other events and considerations may require students to carry their lunchboxes to school. For those days, it’s important to provide the most nutritious options available. To help you wade through the many issues related to child nutrition, food safety, allergy awareness, and foods marketed to kids, we’ve rounded up our best tips and recommendations.

What to send when a packed lunch is on the menu 

Sometimes students will need or want to take lunch with them, and while good nutrition in childhood is important for everyone, it’s not always accessible. The important thing is to ensure your child is fed. Generally, kids should enjoy fruit and veggies daily, eat whole grains when possible, and their intake of saturated fats and harmful food additives should be minimal. To protect students with allergies, avoid sending nuts, peanuts, or sesame products to schools—even for meals that won’t be shared.  

14 simple tips for packing healthy school lunches

While school meals are always a healthy option, sometimes they’re not available: Field trips, class parties, food allergies, dietary restrictions, and other events and considerations may require students to carry their lunchboxes to school. For those days, it’s important to provide the most nutritious options available. To help you wade through the many issues related to child nutrition, food safety, allergy awareness, and foods marketed to kids, we’ve rounded up our best tips and recommendations.  

1. Pack allergen-free snacks to protect all students 

Because anyone can be allergic to any food, it can be difficult to know what’s appropriate to pack for your child’s lunch. When snacks are meant to be shared, play it safe and avoid the Big Nine food allergens: dairy, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish (like shrimp or crab), wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, and sesame. These are the most common food allergens—they’re responsible for more than 90 percent of allergic reactions in the US. Most whole fruits and vegetables are safe for most people, but when sending lunch for your student, avoid sending anything that contains peanuts, tree nuts, or sesame, as these can cause allergic reactions in students and staff even if they aren’t sharing your child’s meal. 

Need more ideas? Here’s our list of allergen-free snacks for the whole class 

2. Don’t pack Lunchables 

Oscar Mayer’s Lunchables, which come with a treat and a drink, may seem like an easy, sensible lunch option. But they’re high in sodium and sugar, contain several additives that children should avoid, including synthetic food dyes, and contain little to no whole grains. The good news: Making your own healthy “Lunchables” is as easy as packing whole-grain crackers, low-fat protein, a piece of fruit or unsweetened applesauce cup, and a can of seltzer or bottle of infused water in your child’s lunchbox. 

Learn more: The unintended consequences of offering Lunchables at school 

3. Include at least one serving of fruit—and don't be afraid to try something new 

In addition to the usual apples, oranges, or bananas, try introducing your child to new fruits. Variety keeps things exciting and also ensures your child gets a diverse range of nutrients. You can use our monthly seasonal produce guides to help you find peak-season options every month, but don’t sleep on canned or frozen fruit, like mandarins or frozen berries: They’re often less expensive than out-of-season fresh fruit. Look for applesauce with no added sugars and fruit cocktails, pineapple, oranges, and other fruit packed in juice (instead of syrup) without food dyes like Red 3 or Yellow 5. They’re a healthy, easy source of vitamins, a bit of fiber, and a little sweetness, and they don’t require an ice pack for food safety.  

Want more ideas? The cold, hard facts about frozen foods 

4. Add vegetables to every lunch 

Eating fruits and vegetables reduces your child’s chances of heart disease, cancer, and stroke later in life. Introducing kids to veggies early and keeping a variety of vegetables in rotation will help them find the ones they like and normalize eating them often. Putting veggies on a sandwich is an easy way to get more nutrients into your child’s diet—try lettuce, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, or roasted veggies like zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and onions. If sandwiches aren’t on the menu, pack raw veggies, like carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, or radishes, with a healthy dip, like hummus or tzatziki.  

Get more tips from CSPI News:Simple, inexpensive ways to eat more fruit and veggies 

5. Add a little calcium 

Though cheese provides calcium, it is the second-leading source of artery-clogging saturated fat in kids’ diets. Leave the cheese off sandwiches unless it’s lower in fat, like a part-skim mozzarella.Consider packing string cheese instead—nearly all string cheeses are made of part-skim mozzarella. Healthier sources of calcium include lower-fat cheese, fat-free and 1 percent milk, and non-fat or low-fat yogurt.  

Looking for the best cheese options? Here’s how to find a healthy dairy or plant-based cheese. 

6. Opt for whole-grain bread 

Choose breads that list “whole wheat” as the first ingredient. If the first flour listed on the label is “wheat flour,” “enriched wheat flour,” or “unbleached wheat flour,” the product is not whole grain. Unfortunately, most multigrain, rye, oatmeal, and pumpernickel breads available are not 100% whole-grain options, so be sure to read the labels carefully. “Thin-sliced” breads from Dave’s Killer Bread, Pepperidge Farm, Arnold, Brownberry, or Oroweat add fiber, vitamins, and minerals, but cut the sodium, refined flours, and added sugars found in most sandwich breads. 

Need help? NutritionAction’s got you covered: How to spot the best sliced breads 

7.  Choose low-fat (1 percent) or nonfat (skim) milk 

“We know that one in five school-aged children already have high LDL cholesterol, a known cause of heart disease, so it’s important to limit dietary sources of saturated fat; choose 1 percent or fat-free milk instead of whole or 2 percent milk,” says Erin Ogden, a child nutrition policy associate at CSPI. Pasteurized low-fat and nonfat milk are the best choices for children’s meals; to avoid foodborne illnesses, add an ice pack or opt for a shelf-stable (marked “ultra-high temperature,” or “UHT”) milk carton, and avoid raw milk. 

Learn more: Why milk served in schools is always low-fat or nonfat 

8. Limit cookies, snack cakes, donuts, brownies, and other sweet baked goods 

Sweet baked goods are the second leading source of added sugars and the fourth leading source of saturated fat in Americans’ diets. Low-fat baked goods seem like an easy solution, but they’re often high in added sugars and low in whole grains. A better bet: Nut-free granola bars or soft-baked whole-grain snack bars can satisfy a sweet tooth while also providing plenty of vitamins and minerals, some fiber, and fewer added sugars. KIND Breakfast Bars are a Better Bite, and nut-free varieties make a perfect school lunch addition. 

Our guide to the best protein bars, granola bars, nut bars, and more 

9. Pack popcorn or whole-grain crackers instead of potato, corn, tortilla, or other chips

Did you know that one ounce of Bugles corn chips has almost as much saturated fat as a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder? Yikes! But popcorn is tailor-made for healthy snacking since it’s whole grain and low in calories per bite, and most pre-popped bags are made with healthy, unsaturated oils like sunflower or canola oil. And though crackers have a healthier image than chips, many don’t deserve it. Choose from the many 100 percent whole-grain (or whole-seed) crackers that make great alternatives to snacks like chips. 

Get more tips: How to spot the best in the cracker aisle 

10. Watch for added sugars in beverages 

Experts suggest limiting the amount of 100 percent fruit juice kids drink; you can try alternatives like flavored seltzers or infused water. (Try adding cut fruit and vegetables, like berries, kiwi, melon, citrus slices, or cucumber to your child’s water bottle for a flavorful drink with no added sugars.) But if you do pack juice, be sure it’s actually fruit juice or fruit juice plus water with no added sweeteners. All fruit drinks must list the “% juice” on the label. Avoid beverages like Sunny Delight, Kool-Aid Jammers, and Capri Sun, which contain 10 percent juice or less and aren’t much different from sugary soft drinks. 

6 great-tasting drinks with less sugar (or none) 

11. Switch from deli meats to healthier alternative sandwich fillings 

Deli meats are a quick protein when time is tight. But keep in mind that they can be risky for Listeria, which causes foodborne illness and is linked to a higher risk of colorectal cancer. Some sandwich fillings to consider instead: 

• Bean spreads, like hummus, with veggies like cucumber, carrot, and tomatoes 
• Sliced banana or strawberries with sunflower seed butter (for peanut- and nut-free classrooms) 
• Leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken 
• Leftover sliced cooked chicken or turkey breast 
• Homemade chicken or chickpea salad 
• Thinly sliced “baked tofu” (look for store-bought pre-seasoned types) 
• Homemade canned salmon salad (a lower-mercury alternative to tuna salad) 

For more ideas, check out our picks for quick poultry and plant-based products 

12. Be careful about low-calorie sweeteners 

Low- or no-calorie sweeteners like aspartame, acesulfame potassium, saccharin, and sucralose are often found in diet sodas and sugar-free snacks. While added sugars should be avoided, switching to foods and drinks with these sweeteners can increase risk of adverse health effects, like cancer or blood clots. When shopping, look for products with stevia extract or monk fruit extract, which are the safest options.  

Get the details: Which low-calorie sweeteners are safe—and which aren't? 

13. Avoid synthetic food dyes 

Synthetic food dyes are listed under names like Yellow 5, Red 40, and Blue 1, and are commonly found in snacks and drinks—especially foods and beverages marketed to children. These food dyes can cause adverse neurobehavioral symptoms in some children, including inattentiveness and hyperactivity. One of these dyes, Red 3, is also known to cause cancer in animals (but shockingly, the FDA still allows it in our food). When choosing beverages, opt for those with no synthetic food dyes when possible. 100 percent juices, sparkling water, and many seltzers are dye-free. 

Looking for dye-free options? Healthy cereals for kids with no food dyes 

14. Prevent food-borne illnesses 

Always wash your hands before preparing food, and thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables before cutting. Be sure to keep school lunch items separate from any raw foods in the refrigerator, and always keep perishables cool. You may have heard that only things like mayo-based salads need to stay cool, but that’s a myth. Salads of all kinds, cut fruit, cheese, meat, leftovers, etc., should always be kept cool. Choose an insulated lunchbox with room for a frozen drink or an ice pack to ensure everything will stay cold until lunchtime. Remind your child to wash their hands before eating—whether at home or school—and, finally, avoid packing high-risk foods such as sushi, recalled deli meats, and unpasteurized cheeses.  

Food poisoning is all too common. Here’s how to avoid it at home (or school)

School lunch matters more than you think 

Heart disease, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases can begin to develop in childhood, usually as a result of unhealthy eating habits. That means a child’s diet and eating habits now make a big difference in the future. According to the USDA, improving the nutrition of school meals is one of the best investments we can make in our children’s futures. 

The nutritional quality of school meals has greatly improved since 2012, thanks to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Between school years 2009-2010 and 2014-2015, the average percentage of calories provided by saturated fat decreased by 23 percent, and the average sodium content decreased by 23 percent overall.  

And that’s not all. School meal standards are about to get another nutrition upgrade. The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service recently published a new rule that institutes the first-ever added-sugars limits for school meals, requires gradual reductions in sodium levels, and maintains requirements for the inclusion of whole grain-rich products. Schools will begin implementing changes in preparation for the new rule’s effective date in the 2025-2026 school year. 

Learn more: School meals get an upgrade: What to expect going forward