Stack from the bottom up, literally.

To fit a full lunch in a small box without crushing anything, you stack vertically: heavy stuff on the bottom, fragile stuff on top, and fill the gaps with soft items.

Think of the box as one tall column, not a wide tray. Start with the heaviest, flattest thing — a yogurt cup, a hard container of salad, a folded burrito. That becomes your stable base. Then balance a smaller container of fruit or crackers on top. End with something crushable but padded, like a sandwich wrapped in a paper towel or a hard-sided container.

Use small round containers or silicone muffin cups to nestle into corners and create “shelves” inside. That keeps foods separated without giving up vertical space. If you’re packing a sandwich, put it in a container that has a flat lid, then stack something heavy on that lid — the lid distributes the weight. Crunchy stuff (chips, crackers) goes in a rigid container or gets wrapped inside a napkin, then tucked into the side where nothing presses on it.

The key is to never leave an empty vertical gap. Fill gaps with napkins, apples, a boiled egg, or tightly packed greens. That prevents everything from shifting around and crushing itself during the commute.

Your sandwich will survive.