School Lunch Guide

This year, you can help your family plan their school lunches and make healthy eating a priority! Take advantage of easy take-along meal options, as well as seasonal favorites, to create school lunches that are satisfying and nourishing.

Healthy school lunches

It's always the right time to plan better-for-you school lunches. While most schools offer hot lunch options, too often, those options are sources of unwanted fat and calories. Plan ahead with packed meals and you'll be able to offer your family better choices — often, at lower cost. Here are some easy, portable meal ideas to get you started:

Main courses

Giant Eagle^® bread — Try several varieties of our delicious sandwich bread, and transform an ordinary sandwich into a meal to remember!
Giant Eagle^® tub lunch meat — Pick up a few packs, and make shopping easy.
Assorted deli meats and deli cheeses — Make delicious sandwiches with a variety of mouthwatering fresh ingredients from the Giant Eagle^® Deli.
Spreadable sandwich items — Get creative with lunch! Try making sandwiches with a variety of tasty, spreadable toppings, including peanut butter, almond butter, jelly, hummus, tuna salad — and more!
Market District^® salad kits — A fresh, vitamin-rich salad makes a perfect meal — and a salad kit makes it convenient.

Fun treats

Giant Eagle^® chips, 12-count variety pack — Everyone deserves a treat! And you can feel good about packing chips in your child's lunch, since these single-serve bags keep portion sizes reasonable.
Giant Eagle^® granola bars — Sweet but healthy, granola bars add a dose of fiber to any meal.
Giant Eagle^® fruit snacks — These portable, better-for-you desserts make lunch time fun.

Healthy snacks

Giant Eagle^® string cheese — This take-along favorite tastes delicious and offers a great source of calcium.
Giant Eagle^® yogurt, assorted flavors and varieties — Rich in calcium and highly portable, yogurt is easy to eat, and tastes great with healthy add-ins like whole-grain cereal and fresh fruit.
Farmers Market^® baby-cut carrots — Kids will love the crunch of these fresh, delicious, bite-sized carrots. Add some low-fat yogurt dip or dressing, and you've got a healthy, mouth-watering treat.
Farmers Market^® raisin packs — Sweet, chewy raisins provide a great source of iron and fiber, in highly portable form.
Fresh, portable produce — Add vitamins, color and crunch to any lunch with crisp, seasonal produce, including apples, oranges, grapes, celery sticks, and broccoli florets.

Looking for supplies to make eating on the go easier? We've got you covered! Stock up on portable, disposable meal supplies, including:

Giant Eagle^® lunch bags
Giant Eagle^® sandwich and snack bags, assorted sizes
Giant Eagle^® plastic spoons or plastic forks, 24 count
Giant Eagle^® napkins

Make lunch fun

High-fat, sodium-laden fast foods tempt us everywhere. But you can use healthy lunch treats as incentives to emphasize good eating habits. By making a packed lunch special, you'll give your child something to look forward to while providing him or her with a balanced diet.

Follow these tips to make lunch fun:

Treat your child — Pack a healthy treat every day, whether it's a granola bar, a small serving of potato chips or a pack of fruit snacks. Fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt, cereal snacks and graham crackers also make smart, healthy treats.

Remember: Treats don't have to be edible, either! A cute note or a small toy make great lunchtime surprises.

Dress up the bag — To make lunch fun, decorate your child's lunch bag with sketches, cut-outs, comics or funny sayings. Even better, let your budding artist decorate his or her own bag the night before.

Get the kids involved — If your child is old enough, he or she can help you plan the lunch menu each week. Getting kids involved in planning their lunches means they'll be more excited about what they're eating — and they'll learn about good nutrition in the process.

Enjoy planning your kid's lunch — and make each school day fun for them, too!