This mom’s grab-and-go lunch hack eliminates school lunch-packing stress

Back-to-school season brings the return of a daily task we don’t blame you for secretly hating: packing lunches, which can be a major source of stress during your already harried weekday mornings. Between trying to pack items your kids will actually eat (and hopefully have enough sustenance to last them through long days) and getting them out the door fast enough, it’s understandable why so many moms feel guilt about school lunches.

One mom shared her genius lunch hack for eliminating school lunch packing stress, and trust when we say that we are taking notes on this one. Home decor guru Lauren Jenkins recently revealed her masterful method on TikTok, sharing that she sets up a grab-and-go bar for her kids, allowing them to build their own lunches based on what they’re interested in eating that day.

The method does require a little prep, as Jenkins demonstrates. She puts each item into individual sandwich bags, separating them into bins by food group in the fridge or pantry, seemingly with the plan of lining the bins on the counter in the mornings so her kids can pick a bag from each bin and toss ‘em into their lunchboxes.

She requests her kids choose a bag from each bin, separated by grains, protein, dairy, fruit, and vegetables. For grains, she’s chosen naan bread, blueberry muffins, and crackers. Proteins include hummus, salami, cooked grilled chicken, hard-boiled eggs, and peanut butter. Dairy includes milk and individually wrapped cheeses, while fruit includes grapes, strawberries, and apple slices. For veggies, she’s got baby carrots and mini bell peppers with to-go cups of ranch dressing. In the comments, she noted that she keeps the apples from browning by using a salt or lemon soak before they get bagged.

In a follow-up video, Jenkins shared some additional food ideas, including pretzel bites for grains, garlic edamame with soy sauce, and watermelon slices. (Yum!)

Naturally, commenters were inspired by her technique, with several praising it for being “smart and creative” as well as “working mom friendly.” (Such a win, indeed.) Others mentioned ways to make it even better, like adding expiration dates on the bags to eliminate any confusion and using biodegradable sandwich bags to help minimize single-use plastic waste where possible.

Jenkins’ set-up works for the entire week, which means school lunch packing is—quite literally—in the bag. An easy hack that lets busy parents and caregivers breathe a bit easier? Sounds like a no-brainer to us, honestly.