I'm Biggie: avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom in San Francisco, & former expat fluent in Japanese. 
Poll: How many American bento-makers are men?
A Japanese radio station asked me to do an on-air interview about bento lunches in the United States, and they seem to think that there’s a growing trend of American men who pack bentos. This may be because of a recent trend in Japan of “bento danshi“, or men making bentos for themselves or their families, often as a way to cut food bills in rough economic times. (See the recent Guardian article and video on the subject, or a Japanese TV clip about bento men.)
Although I know of a few men who make bento lunches (Mr. T on the Lunch in a Box forum, A Man’s Bento blog), my impression has been that the vast majority of U.S. bento-makers are women. If you’re a bento-packer in the U.S., weigh in via the poll so we can either prove or debunk this theory!
Do you know of other men who pack bentos in the U.S.? Bento blogs or Flickr streams by men? Are you a man who packs bento lunches? Feel free to weigh in or share links in comments. The radio interview is slated to air in Tokyo late this week, and I’ll provide a link to the podcast afterwards. UPDATE: The bento segment aired on J-Wave Friday morning Japan time, with a Japanese write-up in the Global Frontline section of the station’s blog.
If you're a bento-maker in the U.S., are you male or female?
- Female (82%, 874 Votes)
- Male (18%, 196 Votes)
Total Voters: 1,070
Loading ...Poll voting closes at midnight Pacific on Wednesday, October 28, 2009.
FURTHER READING:
- Lunch in a Box forum discussions about “Social implications for men” and “Bentos for Hubbys“
- Poll results: How long does it take you to pack a lunch? (poll closed)
- Poll results: What containers do you pack lunches in? (poll closed)
- Poll results: Where are your lunches eaten? (poll closed)
- Poll results: Why do you pack bentos? (poll closed)
- Archive of all polls on Lunch in a Box
- Bento FAQ and Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and reviews
September 29th, 2009 | Categories: poll | 
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September 29th, 2009 at 10:00 am
That is very interesting… my son (14yo) asked me recently to go back to lunchboxes as well, he is tired of school lunches (that he was begging to have on the beginning of this year)…
September 29th, 2009 at 10:08 am
My husband helps with packing the lunches somewhat often… he single-handedly packed the girls’ lunches for the first day of school, and they LOVED them. He doesn’t do that regularly, though
September 29th, 2009 at 10:21 am
I haven’t answered the poll - being that I am not in the US and all ;). Anyway, I find myself using “men’s” bento-boxes since women’s boxes are too small to fit my calory need. The male box being too big though. Men’s boxes are, I know, supposed to be cool but they lack colour and are all in all pretty boring. Can’t they make bigger boxes with some colour?
September 29th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
i wonder if you could post your poll to link to your poll in the NYT bento article? It may have more men readers than this blog. if most of your readers are women, then your poll will automatically skew towards women.
*jessika
sigg makes an aluminum lunch box (maxi) that is men’s size that comes in a couple of nice colors. see reuseablebags dot com or this link: http://www.reusablebags.com/store/sigg-snack-boxes-aluminum-maxi-large-p-235.html
you may also look into lunchbots which have 3 sizes and fun colors (also metal lunch boxes with metal lids)
September 29th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Hi there,
Thank you so much for linking my site.
Your Bento are amazing!!
It’s embarrassing as a Japanese mom, but I can’t pack lunches as good as you.
I want to know how many men are lunch-packer in US.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
@3 from Jessika: I’ve seen some kind of cool-looking men’s boxes from Hakoya and Tatsutomi (? might be wrong on the brand — going from the top of my head), sort of muted lacquered-look plastic. If I find an online source that ships internationally I’ll let you know.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
@4 from Yvette: I didn’t actually have a poll in the NYT article; was it something that the NYT itself was putting on?
September 30th, 2009 at 2:22 am
When I first showed Bento to my husband, he said “that looks like a lot of work.” Then he said “please don’t go touching my food that much.”
September 30th, 2009 at 6:16 am
@Biggie: I think Yvette was suggesting to put this poll on the NYT article, not asking if a poll that was there is yours.
September 30th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
@8 from jomamma: Just read your comment to my husband — had a good laugh about touching the food. Happily, I don’t sculpt food much, so not so much concern with that here.
September 30th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
@9 from April: I think I must have been out of coffee when I wrote my comment. What you wrote makes sense, although traffic to that NYT article has died down considerably from a couple of weeks ago.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
[...] October 1, 2009 by naoko Biggie, the author of the famous blog about bento, is now taking the interesting poll here! [...]
October 1st, 2009 at 6:51 am
I’ve read blogs where a fair number of American men pack their kid’s lunches for them, but not in a bento box necessarily. Sometimes it’s an old-fashioned lunch box (American style) or a brown bag. There’s a great blog by a father who draws pictures on his kid’s lunch bag every day (http://lunchbagart.tumblr.com/).
I’d be more curious to know how many Japanese men ever pack a bento. I’ve lived in Japan for 20 years and have never known any man to make his own bento or his family’s.
October 1st, 2009 at 10:54 am
I think men are much less likely to reply to an online post, too. May skew the results.
October 1st, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I voted for myself(female)because I consider myself to be the main bento packer in our home but my husband packs bento for himself many days a week. Due to a constantly changing work schedule and varied lunch arrangements, if he wants to take something from home, he must pack it himself, and he is doing so as often as possible to help cut back on the family expenses. I simply can’t keep tabs on his work situation to know if a bento will work for him on any given day. I will occasionally prep things ahead for him. He will occasionally make things for both his and kiddo’s bento and will pitch in for family bentos for special activity days. He is Japanese, born and raised there, traditional in many ways but a bit independent in spirit.
October 1st, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Hi Biggie, I’ve just known about you on the Japanese radio show. I am a Japanese living in Tokyo. I make Bento for my husband for years (I prefer using the word, Obento to Bento).
I have my own Bento websites in Japanese and in English. Many people in the world who like cooking and are interested in Japanese cuisine come to my website. They are also interested Bento, and some of them try to make it. It is a little surprise for me to find Bento is getting so hot in the U.S. seeing your website. It’s amazing! So exciting!
Hope many Americans know and try to make Bento
October 1st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
@16 from hime: Wow, that was fast! Feels like I just got off the phone from that radio interview. I’ll have to check out your J/E bento sites; thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a link.
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:59 am
Just starting the bento making process my hubby has showed a real interest in the decorating aspect of the meal. He loves the cut outs and arranging but i’m assuming because he eats his meals alone there is no embarassment of having a cute lunch haha. I normally make the base things and then he adds faces and etc. So i guess it’s really a team effort in our home.
October 2nd, 2009 at 7:21 am
i would say women just because we like to decorate things, and bento is so much about how you present it!
naimah
October 3rd, 2009 at 5:19 am
My husband packs funny bentos. He loves it. He used to be a fine dining chef so loves the aesthetic behind it. He’s just not so good with small. We both pack them for work a bit.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
@4 Yvette, I’ll check those out! Thanks for the tip!
@6, Biggie, would be nice of you if you could if you run across the brand names.
October 5th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I’m one! I pack the majority of my wife’s bento lunches. They’re not all artful, but I strive for yummy at least.
October 7th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Biggie,
I live in Atlanta, Georgia and have recently discovered Bento’s. Bento accessories are hard to come by in this area, but I am flying to San Francisco on Saturday and have promised my son a bento box as a souvenir. Where would you say has the most stuff for Bento’s in the area? I’ll be staying around the Muscone Center and won’t have a car.
Thanks,
Wendy
October 10th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Biggie Biggie Biggie!
Daiso opened a new store in SF’s Japantown!
It’s in Kinokuniya center.
They take cash only right now, and are still unpacking a lot of stuff, but I defintely saw bento ware!
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Your blog is adorable; I love reading these posts…I’m looking forward to meeting you at the Foodbuzz Festival in San Fran on Friday! Bentos are so much fun to pack and eat too!
November 4th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
@25 from Healthy Apple: Look forward to meeting you Friday as well! Should be a good time.
November 4th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I’m 18 and I usually am the one who makes the bentos in my house, but recently I’ve been teaching my father how to make them. I guess that kind of counts as one, right?
November 20th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
My husband packs the bentos sometimes, but it’s usually my job. He does breakfast, I do lunch.
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:40 am
Our 4 year old son just started preschool and wouldn’t eat the catered school lunch. We could tell because after school he had an insatiable appetite. I started packing his lunch, and found that a two-story bento box with a cold pack and his thermal bottle fit easily in an insulated fabric lunchbox. We wanted to feed him nitrate-free meats and well-washed organic vegetables, and there was no better way than to pack the meal myself. In the lower compartment, I make a sandwich with his favorite ingredients: Turkish-style nut paste, kalamata olives, lettuce, mozarella cheese, and a meat (leftover teriyaki steak, roast chicken, nitrate-free bacon or pepperoni). In the upper level, I put sliced fruit (seedless grapes, apples dipped in lemon, persimmon, strawberries, asian pear, etc.) and leftover steamed broccoli, peas, or edamame. Everything is finger food. He eats pretty well, and we share the few leftovers during the drive home from school. The bento takes me about 15-20 minutes to prepare in the morning, usually while I’m simultaneously making the family breakfast.
I’m a practicing neurosurgeon, and my wife is a practicing orthodontist, so we are both very busy. Some days, she helps me make our son’s bento, but I’m more the morning person, so the bento is mostly my responsibility.
January 14th, 2010 at 12:57 am
Hi Biggie - have you taken a look at Mahoutake on Flickr - he makes the most amazing bento daily!
It’s usually me who makes the bento in this house. Last night I did the prep but slept in too late to assemble it. Later I found my husband had made his own. He took a lamb rissole, a cornmeal muffin and a plum. He said: “I didn’t do the vine leaves and stuff”, (I usually pack his bento in mulberry, vine or shiso leaves) “and it rattled around a bit.” He ate it though and brought the box home so full marks there. Thanks for your continued inspiration Biggie. I think the first bento item I ever made was your grilled onigiri.
January 28th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
I bought a 4 compartment Inomato 1.1l bento box for my daughter. The lid fell off when she was pulling it out of her lunch bag and the lid broke! Any idea how I get in touch with the manufacturer to get a replacement lid? I tried a Google search and cant find a site for them anywhere.