# New at Box Lunches



## Cathy Wansing (Feb 25, 2021)

We have an opportunity to do box lunches for our school district. 900 lunches spread over 4 days (225ish a day). We have doing buffet style bbq catering for several years but have never done box lunches. It is just my husband and I (our kids normally help, but this is during the day so they are at school/college). 

If I get two other people to help us, should we be able to get 225 lunches out the door at approximately the same time (pulled pork/turkey sandwish - bbq baked beans, chips,cookie). 

Any help would be appreciated. Suggestions for packaging would be helpful also. By budget is $8 to $10 per person (we are in the Midwest)


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## TrueRoots1 (Jan 13, 2022)

Cathy Wansing said:


> We have an opportunity to do box lunches for our school district. 900 lunches spread over 4 days (225ish a day). We have doing buffet style bbq catering for several years but have never done box lunches. It is just my husband and I (our kids normally help, but this is during the day so they are at school/college).
> 
> If I get two other people to help us, should we be able to get 225 lunches out the door at approximately the same time (pulled pork/turkey sandwish - bbq baked beans, chips,cookie).
> 
> Any help would be appreciated. Suggestions for packaging would be helpful also. By budget is $8 to $10 per person (we are in the Midwest)


Does the food need to be delivered hot? If so I some ideas would be variations of 1. rice, beans and diced chicken 2. Yellow rice and small burrito, 3. Maybe a cheap braised beef with carrots and mashed potatoes, as well as the sandwiches you mentioned. How many schools? As far as boxes go I use sustainable packaging from Goodstartpackaging.com which usually averages to about .20 to .25 cents a box. If not the clamshells work well. I do box lunches 3 days a week, not as many as 225 a day but I have in the past. I try to have an my mise en place ready to go for faster execution.

As far as preparation and execution is concerned, if you have a long table, I would wrap the table or sanitize it well. I then would lay out all the bread or tortillas for wraps or sandwiches and have you and two others go ingredient by ingredient like in assembly line. If you are serving anything that requires a scoop try to get a measured one so every box has the same portion, and you could also track usage and food costs better that way. Whatever you can do the day before, do it. Save the day of for warming up the food and packing it up. Wraps and sandwiches without much sauce hold up well overnight. Rice, beans and some chicken and large cuts of beef are cheap. Pulled pork is also a great option.

I hope this helps.

https://www.goodstartpackaging.com/2-compartment-container-24-oz-8-8-x-6-8-400-count/

https://www.goodstartpackaging.com/fiber-tray-20-oz-8-8-x-6-8-x-1-7-400-count/


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## Cathy Wansing (Feb 25, 2021)

TrueRoots1 said:


> Does the food need to be delivered hot? If so I some ideas would be variations of 1. rice, beans and diced chicken 2. Yellow rice and small burrito, 3. Maybe a cheap braised beef with carrots and mashed potatoes, as well as the sandwiches you mentioned. How many schools? As far as boxes go I use sustainable packaging from Goodstartpackaging.com which usually averages to about .20 to .25 cents a box. If not the clamshells work well. I do box lunches 3 days a week, not as many as 225 a day but I have in the past. I try to have an my mise en place ready to go for faster execution.
> 
> As far as preparation and execution is concerned, if you have a long table, I would wrap the table or sanitize it well. I then would lay out all the bread or tortillas for wraps or sandwiches and have you and two others go ingredient by ingredient like in assembly line. If you are serving anything that requires a scoop try to get a measured one so every box has the same portion, and you could also track usage and food costs better that way. Whatever you can do the day before, do it. Save the day of for warming up the food and packing it up. Wraps and sandwiches without much sauce hold up well overnight. Rice, beans and some chicken and large cuts of beef are cheap. Pulled pork is also a great option.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. We normally stick to traditional bbq items, but I will take all of this into consideration. I DEFINITELY will look into this source for packaging. I actually just declined the opportunity but I am helping them find another solution. I am a member of the foundation that is doing this, so I know they will give us another opportunity next year, after we have had a chance to try box lunches on a smaller scale. After our additional tables arrive, I am working with a few folks to try some 25 - 50 person orders. THANKS AGAIN for taking the time to reply!


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## TrueRoots1 (Jan 13, 2022)

Cathy Wansing said:


> Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. We normally stick to traditional bbq items, but I will take all of this into consideration. I DEFINITELY will look into this source for packaging. I actually just declined the opportunity but I am helping them find another solution. I am a member of the foundation that is doing this, so I know they will give us another opportunity next year, after we have had a chance to try box lunches on a smaller scale. After our additional tables arrive, I am working with a few folks to try some 25 - 50 person orders. THANKS AGAIN for taking the time to reply!


My pleasure. Good luck on all your future endeavors.


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