The relationship between diversity in the contents of preschool children's lunchboxes, food waste, and other variables was investigated among 32 children in a rural day care center located in a university community. Lunchbox contents and food waste were observed on five occasions for each child. Data were gathered on 10 variables (such as age of child, mother's work status, person packing the lunch, and the child's eating patterns) by questionnaire in interview sessions with the parent who packed the child's lunchbox. A diversity score for each child was obtained by counting the total number of different food items and calculating the mean for five observations. A waste score was computed by counting the total number of portions left over, with double weight given to main entrees, and dividing the sum by the total number of food items for all observations. In this study, parental consent was not obtained prior to observation because parent knowledge could have influenced normal lunch packing. Results are discussed. (RH)