Food uneaten in the trash can has infinitely less nutritional value than a bag of chips.
I would pack my kids’ lunches with peanut butter and honey on whole wheat with applesauce and carrot sticks. I’d throw in a treat too, such as a pack of fig newtons or a cookie. All three of my grown girls are now super slim and healthy.
I often work in a title 1 school where kids get free lunches provided by the government. Lunches have much improved in health over the years — it used to be disgusting — but I often see whole trays of food put in the trash. I don’t know how the kids get through the day.
The advantage of making lunches at home was that I was making food my kids would actually eat. No food = no nutrition. I have a hard time believing that a lot of these families can’t afford to pack a simple lunch. It’s really not that expensive.