A tiffin is a light meal or snack, especially lunch, eaten in the middle of the day. The word comes from British colonial India, where people used it to describe their midday meal during a work break.

In India, tiffin also refers to a special stackable metal lunch container that keeps different foods separate. A tiffin box might have three or four round containers that fit together, one stacked on top of another, with a handle that clips them all together. One section might hold rice, another curry, and another vegetables or fruit. Workers and students carry their home-cooked meals in these containers, which keep the food fresh and organized.

Mumbai, India, has a famous tiffin delivery system where workers called dabbawalas (tiffin carriers) pick up thousands of lunch boxes from homes each morning and deliver them to offices across the city, then return the empty boxes in the afternoon. This remarkable system has run for over a century with almost no mistakes.

Today, people around the world use tiffin boxes as eco-friendly lunch containers. They're practical, reusable, and much sturdier than plastic bags or disposable containers. Whether you're packing a school lunch or a picnic, a tiffin box keeps everything neat and separate until you're ready to eat.