Yes, the complaints about other pilots packing food have always seemed rather pathetic to me. Though I suppose they're reasonable if pilots have so many or so large bags that they hog cockpit/ closet space away from other crew members.
Sure, if you're at a major you can easily afford restaurant food, even airport terminal food, but we also always hear about how statistically, pilots who retire at age 65 die at age 67 on average, and while I personally have never packed food (except the odd apple, pear, orange or a few slices of bread or pie in my flight kit), my cholesterol is so bad I had to start taking statins at age 30, so perhaps the pilots who pack healthier food are on to something.
I've always been too lazy to pack any significant amount of food myself though. I seemed to be quite common at C5 when I was there, especially back in the Dash days, presumably because C5 was one of the lowest paying regionals. But they also still used paper charts the first few years I was there, so the last thing I needed was an additional bag on top of the 40lbs of charts and manuals. So then I was already in the habit of not packing food when EFBs were finally approved there. Plus I've always been paranoid about foodborne illness so worrying about if the packed food was staying cold enough would be stressful.
Ironically, a few years ago when most people on here took it as a personal insult that someone quit the regionals to go back to instructing, they said he should have packed food:
Although it kind of strikes me as funny, as hiring at mainline has progressed to the point where someone only has to "pay dues" at the regional level for a few years. He talks about it being easy to "just go back"- but bridges are hard to cross once they're burned. In any case, food for thought for those entering the industry.
