Farming men, women and workers often work long hours and need a lunchbox packed with healthy food to keep them fueled and energised for the farming task at hand. At certain times of the year lunch is often eaten ‘on the go’.

Coming up with a nutritional lunchbox and having food items that are easy, appealing to eat and also store well in a lunch box can be a challenge.

Being familiar with The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and recommend daily servings can assist with incorporating the five core food groups into lunch boxes.

The bulk of foods in a lunchbox should come from:

• vegetables & legumes
• fruit and vegetables
• grain foods

Followed by:

• lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans
• milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or their alternatives ( mostly reduced fat)

With a small touch of:

• healthy fats

A farmer lunchbox which provides a variety of foods from a variety of food groups is key ingredient to fuelling a successful day’s work. A healthy lunchbox will:

• promote health and wellbeing
• reduce the risk of diet-related conditions, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity; and
• reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancers.

For more information on food variety and how to eat healthily visit

Healthy Eating Tips for the Farmer Lunch Box

• choose healthy fats instead of saturated and trans fats
• limit salt and added sugar 
• limit high kilojoules/calorie food and drink
• eat well – have a healthy breakfast, don’t skip meals & snack on healthy snacks
• switch to eating mainly low GI carbohydrates (oats, barley or bran-based cereals, grainy breads, a variety of fruit and vegetables, a variety of carbohydrate-containing foods) as they provide a more sustained source of energy
• prepare and store food safely

Drink plenty of water

Water is a vital nutrient and it is important to stay hydrated. Farming men and women should always have a drink bottle of water packed and drink plenty of it throughout the day. It may be an idea to have a number of drink bottles filled with water in the shearing shed fridge. Then you can grab them as need throughout the day. There are many benefits from drinking water and keeping hydrated.

• increases energy & relieves fatigue
• promotes weight loss
• flushes out toxins
• improves skin complexion
• maintains regularity
• boosts immune system
• natural headache remedy
• prevents cramps & sprains

For more information on the importance of drinking water visit Better Health Channel

Health Star Ratings

A Guide to Healthier Farmer Lunchboxes

The Health Star Rating is a front-of-pack labelling system that rates the overall nutritional profile of packaged food and assigns a rating from ½ a start to 5 stars. It is a quick, easy and standard way to compare similar packaged foods.  It is important to note; this tool should be applied using a combination of label reading and common sense and not as a standalone source of dietary advice in making healthier choices.

The more stars, the healthier the choice! Read more – Make the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice

Looking for inspiration

Better Health Channel
Lunch box tips
Healthy living recipes 

References used for this topic page

More information:

Australian Government
Eat for Health – The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating

Nutrition Australia
Healthy Eating Pyramid

Better Health Channel
Healthy eating

Clinical care:

National Health and Medical Research Council
Dietary Guidelines 2013

Nutrition Australia
Nutrition fact sheets

Research & reviews:

World Health Organization (WHO)
Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Disease

Australia Institute of Health and Welfare
Diet and Nutrition

Fast facts:

• Healthy eating is essential for health and wellbeing.
• At times during the farming year, farmers and workers may require a packed lunchbox due to long hours of work.
• Increase your knowledge on the 5 core food groups and recommended servings to assist in placing healthier choices in lunchboxes.
• Use the Health Star Rating system to assist with buying healthy packaged foods for the lunchboxes.
• Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
• Care, prepare and store food safely.

Last updated: 6th May, 2020