Answer three questions — what can go in the box, what has to stay out, how picky they are — and Lunch Sorted builds the week, matches what goes with what, and hands you the shopping list.
Free to plan · everything on for your first three weeks · no card, no account needed
Questions? The answers
How it works
No blank screen, no setting up a database of your child's food before you get anything back.
Cold only or is there a microwave. Nut-free, dairy-free, whatever your school and your kid need.
A main, side, fruit and sweet for every pack day, arranged so each box actually works together.
One shopping list grouped by aisle. Each morning — or the night before — the box to pack and one checkmark when it is.
What's in it
Not a random pick. Crunch against a soft main, protein when the main is light, something tangy to cut the salt. Tap a compartment and it says which foods go well with the main. Tell it what came home uneaten and next week’s plan leans toward what actually gets eaten. Tonight’s leftovers going in tomorrow? Write them straight into that one box — they stay put through a shuffle and never reach the shopping list.
Nut-free, seed-free, dairy-free, cold-only, no ice pack, a short eating window, no chocolate — plus anything else you list. Excluded foods are flagged in your list, never silently dropped, so you always know why something stopped appearing. Add a snack or drink compartment if your school day needs one. A nut-free week to start from.
Every planned box rolls into one list grouped by aisle: the thing to buy, how many boxes it is for, and the dish it goes into. Check off what the pantry already has and shop the rest. More than one kid? One list covers them all — and so does one plan: every box gets the same lunches, bar the kid whose rules say otherwise.
The next school day as a checklist, with a flag when the box needs an ice pack, a sealed container, or is missing any protein. Hand them the phone the night before and they tap the box they want — or hand it over once on a Sunday and they pick the whole week in one sitting. Every choice comes from the week you already shopped for and already inside your rules. A lunch they chose tends to come home emptier.
A Recipes tab of its own, for the whole household rather than one lunchbox. Two kid-tested recipes come with it, free, and once the tab has a screenful you can search them by name or by what is in the cupboard. For everything else, paste the address of a recipe page, or the words under a reel, and the one you already trust is yours to keep. One step at a time on the counter, in US measures or metric, scaled to how much you are making.
On your phone
Designed at phone size first, because that's where lunch actually gets planned.
Install it
There is no app to download. Add it to your home screen and it opens full-screen with its own icon, works with no signal, and keeps your plans on the device.
What it costs
Every new household gets the whole Household plan for three weeks, with no card and nothing to cancel. After that the planner stays free, and the rest is yours whenever you want it.
or $2.99 a month
Founding price: yours for as long as you stay subscribed.
Prices in US dollars; sales tax added where it applies. Bought here, a full refund within 14 days of the first charge, no questions; in the iPhone app, the App Store sets the price and Apple handles refunds. Terms.
What's coming
Two parents' phones already share one plan. Next is an app on the App Store with a Home Screen widget and an evening nudge to pack. Leave an email if you want to hear when it lands; that's the only thing this page collects, and it's used for nothing else.