How to Organize School Lunch Supplies

How to Organize School Lunch Supplies. Create an organized lunch station to make packing lunches for school easier and more efficient.

It’s back to school time! And that means lunches. LOTS of lunches!

Getting all the supplies you need to make school lunches can be a huge time saver, whether you make the lunches yourself or have passed the job on to the kids to make their own lunches.

How to Organize School Lunch Supplies

My first suggestion is to have one area of the kitchen to keep all the lunch supplies in. This can be a cabinet, deep drawers, or a couple of baskets in the pantry.

Ours is located in a small cabinet next to the microwave and stove. We also store items in the space above the stove.

Favorite Lunch Packing Supplies

• Lunch Bag
• Thermos Container
• Water Bottles
• Glass Containers (4 oz.)
• Silicone Bags – Snack Size and Sandwich Size
• Spoons
• Silicone Cupcake Liners
• Uncrustables Sandwich Maker
• Ice Packs

Lunch Boxes

We keep the lunch boxes in the cabinet above the microwave. It is awkward and can’t hold much else because of the way the builders cut holes for the stove vent.

Every day after the kids leave school, they empty their lunch boxes and place them in the cabinet over the stove. We also have some paper lunch bags in case the kids need something disposable for field trips, etc.

On the other side of the cabinet, you can also see some plastic storage containers for sandwiches and bento boxes. I have transitioned to mostly glass, but we will keep these until they wear out.

Favorite Lunch Box

My favorite lunch box is the Fulton Bag Co. upright lunch bag we purchased from Target. My kids are high schoolers, so we have tried many lunch bags over the years. This one is great!

These lunch bags come in a wide range of different colors and patterns. They can stand upright, and the liner is antimicrobial and easy to wipe out.

It has a removable hard plastic insert, which helps prevent the lunch bag’s items from getting squished. A divider can also be removed to separate heavier items from softer items like sandwiches.

Food Storage Containers

I have slowly been trying to transition to glass for most of our storage containers, but I still keep some small plastic reusable containers on hand.

I purchased a set of inexpensive spoons from Dollar Tree to keep in the cabinet. These are separate from our home silverware, so I don’t have to worry if something happens to them.

We also keep food picks in the cup with the spoons. These are great for picking up small fruits or cutting up cheese, etc.

I use small glass containers for canned fruit, cottage cheese, and yogurt.

We have silicone cupcake liners to separate items in larger containers and an Uncrustables sandwich maker to make our own.

We have more storage containers on the next shelf. I keep all the little containers and bags in baskets to keep everything organized.

We use the little plastic containers from the dollar store for things like ranch or other dips.

I hate all the plastic waste, so I also purchased silicone bags to replace plastic baggies. They are easy to wash out and reuse. I have snack-size and larger sandwich-size bags.

We have some plastic containers on the top that are great for things like a yogurt parfait. They have an insert you can place over the main item (like yogurt) to place the granola, and it doesn’t get mixed in until you eat lunch.

Lastly, we keep a couple of thermos in the cabinet for hot food. We have had these since the kids were small and are still in great shape.

Helpful tip: Heat water to boiling in a kettle or over the stove and pour into the empty thermos. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes. Dump out the hot water and wipe dry before adding your hot food. This helps to keep the thermos hotter longer.

Water Bottles

When the kids were younger, our favorite water bottles were the Thermos Funtainers from Target. Again, like the lunch boxes, they come in a variety of colors and patterns. They stayed cold all day and were the perfect size. We would store these in the cabinet with the lunch boxes.

Now, the kids use larger water bottles that hold more water and keep them in their backpacks. They use these water bottles all day, even at home, so we don’t usually need a place to store them.

I wash them every morning before the kids refill them for school.

Ice Packs

I purchased a couple of small plastic bins to store the ice packs. The kids know to put their ice packs in here when they empty their lunch bags, and they never get lost in the bottom of the freezer.

Refrigerator and Pantry

Keeping a set spot in the refrigerator and pantry for lunch foods is also helpful. This way, everyone in the family will know where to get their food to make lunches. And no one will accidentally eat things that must be saved for lunch.

We have a spot in the refrigerator for cheese sticks, cheese slices, lunch meat, and juice boxes. We also have a place for cottage cheese and yogurt. I purchase the larger containers of these items, and we portion them into small glass containers.

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The pantry has space for fruit snacks, granola bars, applesauce pouches, peanut butter*, and other nuts and crackers.

Keep lunch snacks in the pantry organized by using baskets and bins. Remove everything from the bulky packaging so it is easy to grab and go.

*I know not all schools allow nut butter. Our school doesn’t have restrictions at this time. My daughter is actually allergic to peanut butter, so we make sure it doesn’t touch any food she might eat. Thankfully, she is not severely allergic.

Food Prep

I go grocery shopping every Sunday. When I get home from the store, I prep some of our food to make it easier to grab and go for the week.

I will portion canned fruit into smaller containers, wash and chop fresh fruits and veggies so they are easy to grab, and pre-portion chips, crackers, or pretzels into individual reusable bags.

Being able to grab and go in the morning to pack lunches makes it take much less time.

I hope this helps take some of the stress out of the lunch-making process. I am already feeling a little nostalgic that I won’t be making lunches for too much longer.

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