Choosing lunch

Text A: an original contemporary practice extract.

Before leaving for school, I open the fridge and pack my lunch. Usually, this means a sandwich, some fruit and whatever is left from the previous evening. Nothing is arranged for a photograph. The apple rolls into the sandwich until I place a folded napkin between them.

I like knowing what will be waiting when the lunch bell rings. On busy days, the familiar box gives me one decision I do not have to make. I also choose the amount I will actually eat. My father used to pack too much food and then ask why I had brought half of it home. Now I prepare my own lunch, even if my sandwich is less impressive than his towering creations.

A packed lunch is not always the best choice. The canteen is useful when there is no bread left or when I want something hot. I do not believe that bringing food from home proves that somebody is healthier, more organised or more sensible. For me, it is simply a small morning routine that makes the middle of the day feel settled. When I lift the lid, I find something chosen earlier by the person who knows my appetite best: me.

Text B: an original contemporary practice extract.

At nine o’clock in the evening, I do not want to begin planning tomorrow’s lunch. I have finished my homework, cleared away my books and remembered that an empty lunchbox is sitting beside the sink. Suddenly, I am expected to find the correct balance of containers, fruit and snacks before I can go to bed.

Packed lunches can become another performance. People discuss neat compartments and colourful ingredients as if lunch must win a prize before it can be eaten. I would rather choose a simple canteen meal the next day. It may not arrive in a carefully organised box, but it saves time at home and allows me to decide what I want when I am actually hungry.

The canteen is not perfect. There may be a queue, and sometimes my first choice has sold out. On those days, bringing food makes sense. Still, preparing lunch the night before should not be treated as proof of good sense. Buying a meal does not mean that I have failed to plan my life. Friends who enjoy filling a lunchbox are welcome to carry on. I will take a tray, join my friends at their table and allow lunch to be one ordinary meal rather than an evening project.

Compare the writers’ ideas and perspectives about packed lunches. In your response, you should compare what each writer thinks and how each writer presents these views, using detailed references to both texts.