Pack Your Lunch and Share With a Friend

I pack my own lunch for the cubicle job almost everyday. When I first started working at this company, they provided free lunch. The facility doesn't have a cafeteria. They would make 2 purchases each week for a combination of bread, packaged salad, deli meats, canned soup, frozen entrees, fresh fruits, and other packaged lunchables. I grew up eating very little pre-packaged food, so it was somewhat exciting for me. I wanted to try everything. In less than three months I had gained enough weight that I couldn't fit into the same jeans I had been wearing from college days.

Sauteed green beans, cherry and grape tomatoes, onion, and lemon basil with a splash of balsamic vinegar

Then there came budget cuts and the free lunch stopped. My waistline was saved. I resumed packing my own lunch. The discontinuation of free lunch was a difficult adjustment for long time employees who never had to pay or pack lunch. I befriended Rosa, who had a hard time with the new lunch situation. Now it has been over a year, and we often do lunch share. She usually brings a meat or fish dish. I bring vegetables and fruit from the farm. We have very different cooking styles, so it is always interesting to try each other's dishes.

We could easily walk down the street and buy something for lunch, but eating out isn't as much fun when you don't want to spend an hour, unpaid, for lunch. We share our food in the lunch room for 30 minutes and get to leave the cubicles earlier to enjoy life.

By the way, shortly after the free lunch stopped, I was able to fit into my old jeans again.