Is Lunch Dead? How Midday Meals Are Changing
What’s happened to lunch — and how does it impact your day? As a kid, you probably had more of a structured meal in the middle of the day. Now, many adults find themselves grazing, eating mini meals or skipping lunch altogether. Those habits can do more than change your schedule; they can shape your energy, focus, and how you feel throughout the day. Let’s explore how lunch has changed, how our modern eating habits have evolved, and look at ways people can still get the midday nourishment they need.
Why Have Our Lunch Eating Habits Changed?
This shift away from a traditional lunch isn’t random. It’s driven by how our days have changed.
People usually graze for a few reasons:
- To save time: Because who has time to make a full meal in the middle of the day when you’re juggling life in general, be it a huge workload, chores or taking children to activities?
- Convenience: When you’re busy with lots of things, it’s easier to grab something small and run out the door.
- To save money: Sure, you could run over to a cafe, fast-food joint or sandwich shop to get a full meal, but all those lunch runs add up. It’s much easier to just have a fridge and pantry stocked with food you can grab quickly.
In a totally non-scientific poll, we asked about 100 people what they consider a 10:30 a.m. meal: breakfast, lunch or brunch. About 66 percent said breakfast, a few said lunch, and the remaining said brunch or “depends what I'm eating.”
As our lives have become collectively busier, with many people working from home or increasing the number of activities they pack into their day, convenience and timesaving have become key. Lunch is just one of those things that can seem to get in the way when you’re trying to rush into the next thing.
What to Eat Instead of Lunch
So, when you can’t change much about your lifestyle and schedule, what can you do to make sure those mini meals are still worth it? The trick is to choose healthy snack choices. Aim for high-protein snacks over those made from overly processed foods. While chips and a granola bar are an easy grab, string cheese or cottage cheese with fruit is just as convenient. If you’re worried you might be hungry throughout the day, bring something like a bento box, which has lots of smaller things you can eat over time if you want to.
Need more lunch-on-the-go ideas? Here are quick lunches you can eat on the go (these are minimal mess-in-the-car ideas!).
As lunch becomes a mirage, other eating patterns are coming to light.
Let’s Talk About Second Breakfast (Mid-Morning Meals)
Others call the mid-morning meal “second breakfast,” a traditional 10 a.m. meal or snack in parts of Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. Organic Valley farmers may have different names for it, but second breakfast is common among them.
Check out Farmers Are Not the Only Ones Who Crave Second Breakfast to find meal ideas and learn how it is growing in popularity among Americans.
Has ‘Girl Dinner’ Become ‘Girl Lunch’?
It’s not just lunch either. People are transitioning how they eat all day.
You may have heard of the “girl dinner” trend on social media over the last few years. Content creators all over the globe have made funny, sarcastic videos about how people often have an odd amalgamation of small things for dinner. Usually, it’s depicted as some sort of “lazy,” low-pressure meal made up of random snack items and small portions. For example, it could be three chips, Stringles® string cheese and a can of soda. Or it could be a handful of baby carrots and a small container of yogurt. While “girl dinner” can be anything you want, it’s usually things that are A) easy to grab and B) take little time and effort to prepare.
Many of the same principles seem to be migrating to lunchtime. For example, a “parent’s lunch” often consists of eating the morsels a toddler refuses, such as a leftover chicken nugget, piece of cheese, and slightly squished fruit. A parent’s lunch may stem from convenience, a desire to avoid food waste (thank you!) or something else entirely.
Organic Snack Ideas for a Better Midday Meal
No matter what you call your midday meal, having the right food can make a big difference. Stumped about what to bring if you can’t find time for a traditional lunch? We have some products that are made specifically to take on the go. Whatever your lunch looks like, try to take time to enjoy it, whether it’s as simple as a few slices of cheese and an apple or the increasingly rare sit-down meal around the dining room table with family.
