Swap shapes for rice crackers, chips for popcorn… parents can improve their kids’ diet with these healthier lunchbox options
- Written by Matthew Mclaughlin, PhD Candidate, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle

Four in five primary school students eat a packed lunch every day, costing parents around A$20 a week. That’s almost 10 million lunchboxes across Australia every week.
But nine in ten of these contain so-called “discretionary foods” such as cake, chips, muesli bars and fruit juice. These foods are not necessary for a...