Forty-one percent of elementary schoolchildren bring lunch to school on any given day. Fortyfive percent bring snacks. Surprisingly, little is known about the foods and beverages they bring. The present cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the GREEN Project Lunch Box Study sought to: (1) characterize foods and beverages brought from home to school by elementary schoolchildren, and (2) compare the quality of packed lunches to National School Lunch Program (NSLP) standards and packed snacks to Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) requirements. Lunches and snacks from 626 elementary schoolchildren were assessed and evaluated using digital photography and a supplemental food checklist. Food and beverage types most likely to be provided for lunch were sandwiches (59%), snackfoods (42%), fruit (34%), desserts (28%), water (28%) and sugar-sweetened beverages (24%). Twenty-seven percent of lunches met at least three of five NSLP standards. At snack, snackfoods (62%), desserts (35%) and sugar-sweetened beverages (35%) were more common than fruits (30%), dairy foods (10%), and vegetables (3%). Only 4% of snacks met two of four CACFP standards. Future research is needed to understand the multiple determinants of food packing behavior, including constraints faced by families. School wellness policies should consider initiatives that work collaboratively with parents to improve the quality of foods brought from home.