Get a hard box, not a soft lunch bag

The best way to keep a sandwich from getting squished is to put it in a rigid, hard-sided container — not a cloth or insulated lunch bag.

Soft lunch bags might keep things cold, but they’re basically fabric. Throw that bag on top of your backpack or drop it on the bus, and gravity wins. The bread takes the hit. A hard plastic container, even a cheap one, keeps the pressure off because the walls and lid hold their shape.

You don’t need anything fancy. A simple bento-style box or a dedicated sandwich keeper with a firm latch works. Look for something with a shallow depth so the sandwich doesn’t rattle around and shift. If you want to keep chips from getting crushed too, get one with a separate compartment or just put the chips in their own bag on top of the container.

Best part: hard boxes also protect the toppings from sliding out sideways, and they’re way easier to wash than the inside of a fabric bag.

Your sandwich has to survive the commute, not just sit pretty on Instagram.