Stephen Howe

Behavior

March of the Lunchboxes

For quite some time I have brought my lunch to work in a lunch box/bag but was usually the only one on the train carrying one. Now? Lunchboxes and bags everywhere--on the subway, on the PATH train, and the streets of Manhattan. And its men I see carrying them.

I like to cook--so bringing my lunch is a way to cook more at home plus make sure I am eating food that I like and think is good. Plus I tend to eat more healthily when I bring food from home. Salads and fruit are easy to throw into a lunch bag. I am less likely to buy them during a quick run for food.

With economic news and worries weighing on everyone's mind I started thinking about how much I was saving. And it wasn't just the obvious. First off, I was no longer spending the $40-$50 on lunches a week ($8-$10/lunch). And because I wasn't spending money on lunch I found that I didn't need to go the ATM (fewer ATM fees! I now go weeks--five weeks at one stretch--without going to an ATM). And finally, without extra cash and change in my pocket I found that I wasn't spending money on all those extras: coffee at Starbucks on the way back from lunch; money into the vending machine; money who knows where.

7th avenue, 32nd street