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Added to that, on the first day at the new place, the lunch staff scared the pants off me, when they yelled at me for going the wrong way, using the spoon myself instead of waiting for them to glorp the gelatinous goo onto my plate, and generally holding things up in line. They had no way to know that I was new, and I had no clue how they did things here in the new place since no one had really thought to show me around. Even today, as a grown up and otherwise competent person, an unfamiliar cafeteria line can still conjure up feelings of dread surrounding the limitless potential for social embarassment that can be caused by dropping a tray of spaghetti and a carton of souring milk in front of your peers. So, to avoid having to stand in the lunch line, I soon became a lunch box and brown bag carrying kid, and I have some tips for kids and their parents preparing the proverbial "Sack Lunch" for school. I personally believe that the eater of the lunch should take responsibility for (and control of) packing the lunch, as soon as that is practical without risking a daily diet consisting of nothing but fudge brownies and gummy bears. Delegating this task also fosters a sense of responsibility that will enhance the chances that the lunch box toter will remember to pull it out from the fridge, as they head out the door, too. Lunch boxes have the appeal of rigid sides, and a thermos bottle with a cup. If it has a fun theme, so much the better, however, my favorite lunch box was made from flexible padded plastic with a kind of groovy yellow fabric pattern. It probably worth mentioning that it did not have any celebrity or product tie in at all. It was just a simple lunch box, but it was exactly the right size to fit an apple, a sandwich, maybe some celery or a small bag of chips and a thermos without squishing the innards of the sandwich before lunch time. A thermos is also handy for including soup on a cold day. However, lunch boxes and thermos bottles do add extra weight to what you are carrying, and you have to bring them home at the end of the day, so a brown bag can be a convenient alternative. Having the contents of the inside of the sandwich escape is the primary hazard of carrying your lunch to school. The tuna salad sandwich that looked so appealing on the cutting board as you slipped it carefully into its plastic bag, will look very different, when one side of it is mashed flat, and the tuna has oozed around freely for several hours. Proper packing of a brown paper bag is critical. Under no circumstances, should the sandwich go on the bottom of the bag, just because it is the right shape! And heaven forbid that the apple or orange go on top! That will leave a concave impression in the middle of the sandwich from which there will be no recovering! Begin with any beverage, and slide the beverage to the side of the bag. Place any fruit you are including next to the beverage. Then add in slices carrots, or celery, and any cookie or cake. The star of the show, The Sandwich, can go next, and it is okay to put chips on top of the sandwich, so that they stay in tact. Basically, follow the rule of the packing the denser items toward the bottom, and your lunch will likely survive the school bus trip. One of the other advantages of the paper bag is that you can personalize it, not merely with your name, but also with "power quotes", stickers, funny drawings, a clipping from the morning comic section taped to the side, or cheers for a great math test in the afternoon! When constructing a sandwich for these rugged conditions, my advice is to skip the lettuce and tomato, which tends to get soggy or slide around. Include a veggie or small salad in a container or separate bag instead. To keep the sandwich interesting and to add some veggie crunch, use cucumbers, apples, or red or green peppers in the place of the lettuce, because they tend to hold their place in the sandwich better. Field greens are more likely to hold still than romaine lettuce, which is flatter and will take off in all directions given half a chance. Chewier bread can help stabilize the structure of a sandwich, but if you are gnawing on the bread and the filling comes out the sides into your lap, that won't help. Here are a few creative suggestions for sandwich fillings that you might not have tried before. They might not appeal to a fussy eater, but if you get the "not THAT again" complaint, you'll be prepared with these ideas to shake things up!
Remember that sandwiches are not the only way to go. A little left over fried chicken, or some pasta salad can make for a nice change of pace from the tried and true classic favorite – the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. And because not every kidhood day is as easy and stress free as we might hope or imagine it to be, whatever else you do when packing a lunch, don't forget to include some of those chocolate kisses!
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When I was in the third grade, I had to switch schools in the middle of the year when my mother and I moved east to live with my grandparents. It was a time of personal east coast vs. west coast culture shock for me, and much of that displaced kid confusion surrounded the lunchtime routine at the new school. The lunch room filled with shrill little voices bouncing off of cindlerblock walls seemed noisy and agitated compared to the sunny outdoor patio where I typically ate lunch in our California school. I'm sure west coast kids were just as noisy, but we were outside, and the effect was not nearly so concentrated. Given that I was already weirded out on so many levels, it did not seem like a reasonable place for anybody to sit and eat a meal, and it seemed hopeless to try to make new friends in a room where you couldn't even hear the person sitting next to you. 
