Whole Foods: Rethinking the Lunchbox
Parents know they should be sending their kids off to school with a wholesome lunch. But working parents struggle to put any lunch together five days a week, much less a healthful one. Processed luncheon meats, bags of chips, and soda become the fallback position.
The challenge: The Whole Foods grocery chain is renowned for its commitment to healthful foods and its refusal to stock sodas, products with trans fats, and other foods it considers unwholesome. So it's hardly surprising that parents who shopped there began asking for some packable, nutritious options for their children's lunchboxes. But what grab-and-go foods would kids like that would also pass nutritional muster?
The solution: As kids were heading back to school in the fall of 2004, Whole Foods introduced its "Whole Lunch To Go." In a recyclable plastic container with a handle, resembling a traditional lunchbox, the store put a sandwich, applesauce, a juice box, and animal crackers. The sandwiches are made fresh daily on whole-grain bread. To keep things simple, the filling options are limited: turkey (from a naturally raised bird), peanut butter and jelly, or Cheddar cheese. The lunchboxes are clear so shoppers can see the contents, and they are stacked in a refrigerated to-go case. When lunch is over, the container can be repurposed as a holder for crayons or art supplies.
The response has been gratifying, says John Mitchell, prepared foods coordinator for the Northern California region. Parents really appreciate the convenience and typically buy multiple boxes at once. Mitchell says the chain is looking at other items with potential for the lunchbox, like chocolate soy milk and vegetable juices.
Inevitably, adult shoppers have expressed interest in a more grown-up version. At the chain's San Francisco South of Market store, located in a largely commercial neighborhood, adults can substitute one of the store's premade panini or a custom sandwich. Many local office workers now pick up a lunchbox on the way to work, says Mitchell, and put it in the office cooler.