Remember the good ol’ days when your mom used to pack you lunch in elementary school? You’d trade kids for the best snacks at lunchtime and eat three bites of your healthy food before throwing the rest away (we’re not judging). Recapture the magic on March 10 with National Pack Your Lunch Day! From the classic PB&J to the Pinterest-worthy mason jar salad, homemade lunches are both fun and filling. Best of all, since you make it yourself, you can pack all your favorite foods! (But don’t just pack yourself a lunch full of brownies — your mother taught you better than that.) Get ready to brown-bag it up!
National Pack Your Lunch Day timeline
Mickey Mouse is the first known character to appear on a lunchbox.
The Hopalong Cassidy lunchbox becomes the first of its kind to be based on a television show.
Joy begins posting creative lunches for kids on her Instagram page Lunches + Littles.
‘Lunchbox Dad’ George Georgievski takes on the morning job of preparing school lunches for his kids and starts his blog.
National Pack Your Lunch Day Activities
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Pack your own lunch
Bet you didn’t see this one coming, huh? The best way to celebrate National Pack Your Lunch Day is to jump right in and try it yourself! Start simple with a sandwich or salad, and then go wild as you get more comfortable.
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Buy some Tupperware
While the Tupperware parties might be long past, you can still jump on the reusable container train. Tupperware are environmentally friendly and make it easy to tote your leftovers or even a pre-made meal. Your packed lunches will never be the same.
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Make a meal with friends
Need some motivation to pack that lunch? Team up with your friends to create a meal! You’ll have fun cooking with friends, and you can split the food you make so you both have lunches the next day.
Why We Love National Pack Your Lunch Day
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It’s cheap
Look, we love the convenience of going out to lunch every day as much as you do. But buying pre-made food can add up! Thinking ahead and getting food to pack your own lunch saves lots of money in the long run. And let’s just be honest — it leaves you with more money to buy that extra cappuccino we know you’ve been craving.
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It's healthy
When you buy your lunch, it’s easy to cave and get a burger (or three, or five). Trust us, we’ve been there. It’s not pretty. However, when you pack your own lunch, it’s less easy to give in to spur of the moment temptation. You can nip your snack attack in the bud with your homemade food before you go rogue. And the best part? There’s no waiting involved — unless you count the time it takes to rip your brown bag open.
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You know what's in your food
If you had ordered that burger, you wouldn’t know what’s in it. How much oil did they use to fry that patty? Why are your fries staying suspiciously crisp, even after you’ve left them sitting for an hour? When you pack your own lunch, you don’t have to wonder how many chemicals are in your food. You’ve made it yourself, so everything that goes in there is natural!
National Pack Your Lunch Day dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | March 10 | Friday |
| 2024 | March 10 | Sunday |
| 2025 | March 10 | Monday |
| 2026 | March 10 | Tuesday |
| 2027 | March 10 | Wednesday |
