LunchBots

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
August 30, 2017

When we lived in Korea, my mother used to pack beautiful and delicious dosiraks (도시락) for my siblings to eat at school. By the time I started school, we had already immigrated to the United States, and I was sent to school with my lunch in either a brown paper sack or my favorite Archies lunch box.

I wish I had saved that lunch box. I see people selling them for upwards of $100 on Ebay! But, that’s neither here nor there…

When my son started first grade, I began packing his lunch, too. Sometimes it’d be a Thermos full of macaroni and cheese. Other days, it’d be a bento box with sushi, wasabi and a tangerine.

JUST KIDDING! That’s my lunch in the photo above. His (smaller) bento box was filled with a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, baby carrot sticks and grapes.

Overall, I’ve been pleased with my LunchBots. Though I can certainly be more green, the bento boxes have reduced my need for plastic wraps and aluminium foil.

Caution: These containers aren’t leak-proof, so don’t put things like salad dressing into one portion of the box, thinking that it won’t run into the other compartments. Because it will. And it will make a mess.

These boxes also won’t prevent food from spoiling, so be sure to put an ice pack into your lunch bag if you do decide to pack something like sushi. I often put a bottle of frozen water in the lunch bag. By meal time, the water has melted. But while it’s still frozen, it keeps the contents of the LunchBot cool.

Is it worth the money I shelled out for it? I would say so. It has averaged out to about $10/year and I don’t foresee it needing to be replaced any time soon. It’s easy to care for (dishwasher safe). Obviously, don’t stick it in your microwave or oven!

To get a feel for the size, this is the LunchBot my son used when he was in first grade. It holds about half a sandwich on each side.

As a fourth grader, he needs more food than this can hold. So, he uses my larger Trio.

CHECK THIS OUT: Three years ago, I paid $27.99 for my LunchBot Trio (size large) and $18.99 for the smaller version. They have survived well over the years. I recommend getting the stainless steel lid, rather than the ones with a plastic overlay, which friends have told me crack fairly easily.

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