What an amazing time to be a kid who eats lunch! When I started my search for a PVC-free, lead-free lunchbag two years ago, it was slim pickings. Now, you can find so many wonderful and functional lunchbags to fit the style and personality of your kids. Because lunch should be as fun as school, right? Many schools don’t allow metal lunchboxes, because they’re difficult to store in the fridge, but I threw one in for bigger kids. Here are my favs for this back-to-school season:

For the Animal Lover - I flipped over these BUILT Munchlers lunch bags, and I think if I didn’t already have too many lunch-carrying options I would buy every one of them. They’re made from soft-sided polypropylene, tested safe for food, lead free, and easy for small hands to open themselves. The coolest part, aside from carrying around fab animals, is that the bag folds out to a placemat! That means clean lunch space and the bag stores flat when your kids finally put them down! They also come in a wearable lunch pack option.

For the Futurist - Fleurville has come a long way since their original Mothership bags, and their Lunch Pak is a proven hit with the preschool set. The PVC-free bag can be worn as a backpack or carried, and is completely insulated with a wipeable interior. It comes in a totally mod design (they could have named it a Lunch “Pod”) with great colors for both boys and girls. I’m hoping they’ll eventually make this bag as part of their Re-Run line and save some plastic bottles from landfills in the future!

For the Whimsical Set - I wrote about Mimi the Sardine bags for my very first teensygreen post, and I still hail these bags as our go-to lunch/snack/art supply/all around bag. Mimi the Sardine bags are made from 100 percent lead free, PVC-free, and meets the Oeko-Tex 100 Standard for safe textiles. They’re so fun to carry around, I mean, your kids will look so adorable carrying these to school!

For Kids Who Love Opening Boxes (and Well Coordinated Lunches) - Bento boxes are all the rage, but many of them (AKA cheap ones) have lids that always open and spill. My younger daughter loves her Laptop Lunch Bento system for many reasons. One, she eats like a bird, and having the ability to put a bunch of different foods together without plastic baggies makes both of us happy. Second, she gets to open all those little boxes herself - like food presents! Laptop Lunch wil save you a lot on plastic wraps and bags, and you can buy extra boxes in great colors. You also get their lunch menu cookbook, with awesome photos of lunch ideas that will make you instantly hungry!

For Older Kids - I first saw the tiffin lunch system while watching Anthony Bourdain eat his way through India. Men called “dabbawalas” or literally, “one who carries a box,” collect these stainless steel lunch boxes from suburban homes, deliver them miles away to their respective lunch recipients, and return the tiffins to their homes. Apparently they have amazing delivery accuracy (wish I could say the same for some places near my house)! These tiffins have made their way here, and I think they’re super sleek and old-fashioned all at the same time. Tiffins come in various sizes, from two to four tiers, can be insulated, and are sealed for no spillage. I think these would be great for older kids who are past the swinging-lunchbag phase, and who can manipulate the tiffin opening, which can be tricky.