Publix to Offer Back-to-school Lunch Kits

With the back-to-school season getting underway, Publix Super Markets will introduce a line of deli-prepared kids’ lunches, according to a published report. Set to debut July 29, the five varieties of Publix kids’ meals will go for $3.99 each.

Taking its cue from such items as Oscar Mayer’s Lunchables, which is in the midst of a better-for-you revamp, and Walmart’s recently launched children’s meals retailing for $2.50 a pop, Publix’s line will include such options as the Peanut Butter Apple Wrap, consisting of peanut butter and apple slices in a multigrain wrap, string cheese, mini carrots, yogurt and a fruit drink, and Turkey Rolls, offering oven-roasted turkey on honey wheat roll, along with a packet of raisins, apples and grapes, and organic white milk.

“These are quick, easy meals you can give your kids, but not feel bad about,” Publix spokeswoman Shannon Patten told the Tampa, Fla., Tribune. “They’re not fast food, or pre-packaged food.” Patten added that as well as being fresher Lunchables, the Publix lunches could contain more food than some of the Oscar Mayer line’s varieties.

Deli staffers will prepare the lunches daily. Sold in a clear plastic containers sized to fit in lunchboxes, the meals will be merchandised in refrigerated cabinets.

According to Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix, nutrition was the main reason it created the meal line, each variety of which was approved by a corporate dietitian.

For more information, visit http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jul/10/the-lunchbox-battles-begin/.