Nov. 3 is National Sandwich Day (the birthday of the Earl of Sandwich, the English aristocrat supposedly responsible for the handheld meal), and a new survey of parents shows the vast majority of kids are eating sandwiches for lunch. At the same time, parents are concerned about how the deli meat in those sandwiches is made, including the use of antibiotics and hormones in animals raised for food. In honor of National Sandwich Day, Applegate, the nation's leading provider of natural and organic meat, is releasing the results of its 'What's In Your Kid's Lunch' survey.
The survey shows that 69 percent of U.S. parents report packing lunches for their kids, with nearly a third of parents packing a lunch every day. Of those lunch-packing parents, the top item included in lunches (reported by 80 percent) was a sandwich or wrap. Of the parents who turn to sandwiches for their children's noon meal, sliced deli meats beat out jelly, peanut butter and cheese as fillings.
Of those parents who pack lunches for their kids, 94 percent agree that deli sandwiches are quick and easy to prepare, and 81 percent said they really want to know what's in those deli meat products and how they are made. And with 79 percent of lunch-packing parents saying it's important that the deli meats they buy come from animals not treated with antibiotics and hormones, another 82 percent said it was unfair and misleading that meat companies can label products as natural even when antibiotics are used.
See the graphic below for tips on packing a superbug-free lunch:
