Endlessly adaptable, a bento-box lunch comes to the rescue as school begins, Kenji López-Alt writes. Joel Goldberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.Credit... Supported by By J.

A bento box is an all-in-one compartmentalized Japanese lunch box containing a balanced meal. This meal typically consists of a starch (like rice or noodles) and protein, a vegetable, and fruit side.

In “Bento Monogatari,” a Belgian short film that was released in 2010, a woman makes her husband a bento box for lunch each day, in an attempt to salvage their marriage. Traditionally, bento is a ...