Great idea!

Great idea!

Great idea, but come on Real Simple, get some reusable bags for the snacks on the go.

those would have to be kept on a very, very high shelf in my house.

This is a good idea for myself, so that I have healthy snacks ready to grab and eat!

This is a genius idea. Being 8 mos pregnant, my son could go to this box in the kitchen and get himself a snack, or his little sister, instead of me having to pull one out of the cupboard, portion it out, etc. Maybe I am being lazy but I feel like my kids are always in need of a snack or drink, and this would be one of those things that makes life a little easier.

I was actually contemplating doing something like this today. Suddenly my almost-five-year old doesn't want to eat anything (a phase, I'm sure), and I was thinking if I gave her the control (which food issues revolve around, I think), she might eat more.

@xhtmlgirl Please don't feel lazy, in teaching your kids to be independent and self sufficient!
So many people were surprised or confused when my children would make themselves a sandwich at 2 or 3. They went to a Montessori, what can I say?
I've always tried to have easy access to healthy snacks. Though the arial shots of these are soothing, and aesthetically pleasing, a drawer full of fruits and vegetables is pretty easy, anyway.

Looks like a lot of plastic going to waste. I hope that by the time my son is snacking, he'll be able to pull a carrot stick out of the fridge on his own.

Love it.

We have a basket of kid-friendly snacks in our pantry, and our son has learned that one handful is all he needs. We don't have anything portioned out for him. He loves being able to get his own snacks, and I love that he can do it himself too!

I keep a fruit bowl filled on our kitchen island and my son has his own drawer stocked with small dishes and cups that he uses. It's much healthier and less wasteful than what's pictured here plus it requires less work on my part. Today my son was hungry while I was upstairs putting his little brother to bed so he got an applepear out of the bowl, washed it and ate it.

The idea is awesome (even for those of us who don't have kids!) and switching over to reusable bags would be an easy fix. Love it!

I wash and reuse single serve yogurt and apple sauce containers. I put crackers, cereal or, whatever snack I want to fill in the clean, dry containers and cover with small squares of Glad press and seal wrap. I'm still using plastic but far less than baggies.

brilliant...and maybe at a level where my 5 year old doesn't need my help EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY!!

Great idea -- Everyone harping on using the plastic baggies, its not that hard to use containers that you DO approve of in place of the baggies.

I think sometimes that RS uses the convenience items to help people see that an idea doesn't have to be complicated to inspire people to try it themselves and that they are in no way saying that you have to implement their idea in the way that they do.

So I would like a suggestion on a container to replace cracker and cookie boxes/bags, isn't made of plastic, but which isn't impossible for a youngster to open.

This isn't just a good idea for kids. I work as a supply teacher and often have to grab food and run after recieving an early morning call. This would simplify my frantic mornings! I'd use little reusable tubs though.

I really don't see the issue with baggies. We wash and re-use ours all the time.

We buy the heavier freezer-weight ones and they'll hold up for quite a few uses.

@lemmings, there are lots of reusable cloth bags on etsy--search "reusable sandwich bag". I don't know if you can buy similar things in stores, or if you're handy you could make some! Otherwise if the child is old enough to manage jar lids, mason or old pickle-type jars would work great.

Lemmings - would a loosely capped baby food jar or Mason jar work?

Etsy also has a lot of reusable sandwich/snack bags, but they are typically lined with nylon.

This is also a super idea for anyone trying to lose weight. Portion controlled, pre-prepared snacks will stop the raiding the back of the cupboard for the 'emergency' Tim Tams.

This is a great idea for everyone that is on the go as well as children. It gives parents a way to organize the snack food while making it fun for the kids to eat! It also provides a way to keep an organized inventory of what foods are needed the next time someone runs to the grocery store.

An audience I didn't see mentioned yet... spouses! This would probably be better than the family size Doritos.

@RedPene--where do you get Tim Tams??? Love those....