When we first launched LaLa Lunchbox back in 2012, our goal was to make school lunches easier for families. Our mission was to get kids engaged in the meal planning process in a long term effort to help raise the next generation of healthy eaters. We sought to make the "what's for lunch" chore easier for parents, to help them save time and money by packing lunch items that they had already shopped for, and that their kids would actually enjoy eating.

Sneak peak from our new Dairy Free bundle

We've been overwhelmed by the response in the last four years! To the LaLa Lunchbox users who email us with comments and praise, we thank you tremendously. We could not have come this far without you! To the publications who have posted about us, we are forever grateful. You have helped hundreds of thousands of people find relief in the daily slog of lunch packing.

Sneak peak from our new Gluten Free bundle

While we are satisfied with how far we've come, the lunch-packing struggle is far from over. Here's the big news: to celebrate the back to school season, we've made the LaLa Lunchbox app FREE to download (what are you waiting for?)

Sneak peak from our new Vegetarian bundle

And the even bigger news: in response to the ever-changing landscape around families and food, we have added five dietary-specific food bundles for users to download -- nut free, dairy free, gluten free, vegetarian and kosher. Four of them have been curated by well-known, phenomenal dietitian and blogger Holley Grainger and the kosher bundle has been curated by the ever-amazing kosher blogger and cookbook author Ronnie Fein. Each bundle contains about 25 new ideas to provide lunch packing inspiration for a variety of lifestyles and eating habits. In addition to these dietary-specific bundles, we've also added three new bundles filled with lunch inspiration from drool-worthy creative food geniuses: Aviva Wittenberg, Sylina Lunches and Gina Kirk.

Sneak peak from the Aviva Wittenberg bundle

We hope that this new content inspires you and your family to pack interesting, delicious lunches for your kids this year! As always, we welcome your feedback. Please just drop us a line to let us know how it's going. If you'd like, follow along on Instagram, where we post daily pics of school lunches - we're there in the trenches with you! Be sure to tag us (@lalalunchbox) to show off your lunch creations.

Sneak peak from the Sylina Lunches bundle

You'll be able to browse the new food bundles on the app and decide whether the content is for you before downloading. We think you'll be pretty excited when you see the wealth of healthy, delicious, kid friendly options. Of course, these new bundles won't replace the food library you already have -- they're designed to add even more amazing content to our already robust selection of foods. If your child attends a nut-free school, if someone in your family has allergies or sensitivities, if you have dietary preferences for any reason whatsoever or if you just want a fresh injection of new lunch inspiration, we've got you covered. Please note: these bundles are available for a separate, one time fee of $2.99, and with about 25 new lunch ideas in each bundle, that amounts to approximately 11 cents per idea.

So listen, back to school can be an overwhelming time for families. And getting back into the school lunch routine can be downright intimidating. We get that, and we're here to ease the pain. After you download LaLa Lunchbox, go ahead and hand over your iPhone or iPad to the kiddos and let them pick out the foods for their lunches. Their choices will become and easy-to-use grocery list for you so you'll stay on top of your lunch game. As Holley says, "inviting children to lend a voice in the food they eat helps to cultivate a healthy relationship with food, fosters a sense of pride and makes kids more likely to eat more food, resulting in less waste and more money saved." We bet that after using LaLa Lunchbox regularly, you'll never open up a smelly, uneaten wasted lunch at the end of the day again, and you'll never sweat over the "what's for lunch" question again. Win-win.

Please feel free to email us with comments, questions or feedback - our customers are our number one priority! Best of luck with back to school! - Gillian