Oranges in second place, often rejected as 'messy.' Qualifiers: 'peeled,' 'unpeeled,' 'whole,' 'halved,' 'quartered,' 'sliced,' 'sectioned,' and 'don't forget the napkin.'Īlso mentioned: plums, strawberries, cherries, pears, pineapple, peaches, grapes, and tangerines, Few children expressed a desire for bananas, though many children get them. Frequent qualifiers: 'cold,' 'crisp,' 'plump,' 'juicy,' 'red,' 'without bruises,' 'Granny Smith.' Popular snack items: Doritos way ahead, potato chips trailing far behind.Īlso mentioned: Potato sticks, popcorn, Cheetos, salted and shelled peanuts, raisins.įruit: Apples the clear winner, but not all pass muster. Popular 'main-course' alternatives: Pizza (even cold, and including muffin pizza), hot soup, ravioli, Spagettios or leftover dinner pasta, fried or barbecued chicken (especially legs), salad.Īlso mentioned: Chinese food, yogurt, turkey or chicken pot pie, steak. Not-as-popular: Plain peanut butter, turkey, salami, chicken, egg salad, hot dogs, cheese and crackers, bagels and cream cheese, cheese sandwich. Most popular sandwiches: PBJ, roast beef, bologna, ham, tuna and heroes (roughly: ham, cheese, lettuce, optional tomatoes, on French bread or roll, butter or mustard optional). Here are the items mentioned most often in an informal survey of about 70 bag-lunchers at Lafayette and John Eaton elementary schools:

Liverwurst subsmarine